Growing Up Yakuza
by BlackJack7
Summary: Our past experiences shape our identity, or so some say. It's this statement which I try to explore as I show bits and pieces of Kumiko's childhood as she deals with the regular trials of growing up with a yakuza twist.
1. Prologue

**_A/N_**: This story is manga based. I think she is too weak in the drama and there isn't much yakuza involvement which is why I don't like the drama as much though I do admit I did watch it. And, since I am confessing, I only watched season 1. The reason why I didn't watch season 2 was because it just wasn't Gokusen without Shin. Any inconsistencies from the manga is due to the fact that this is a fan fiction.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

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**Prologue**

From the time Kumiko Yamaguchi was born until she reached the age of 7, her parents (Yoshio Yamaguchi and Yuriko Inaba) tried to give her the life of an average kid. However, no matter how hard they tried, she was never an average child. She'd rather play soccer than play with dolls, but it was her tendency to get into fights which prompted her mother to say _'You are definitely a Kuroda.' _or _'You are just like your grandfather'_. She never knew if her mother meant it as a good thing or a bad thing. Mostly because when she tried to ask about her grandfather, her mother wouldn't answer her. The grave look on her mother's face made her look as if she had been hexed. Cast in a spell that would only dissipate as soon as her father spoke as if her father's voice held some sort of power to conjure her out of it.

She hardly had any memory before age 4. Which is the reason why she doesn't remember when she first met her grandmother. She only has one memory of her. Kumiko was playing under her grandmother's watchful eyes when she caught a reflection of her grandmother's face. No one saw except for Kumiko. The look on her face was a mixture of sadness and glee. Emotions at polar opposites met in that gaze and being 4 curiosity commited it to memory and filed it away. Was that the last time she saw her? She doesn't remember, and it didn't matter. Kumiko Yamaguchi was happy.

She was a little bit too independent for her mother's liking. Behind closed doors, her mother sometimes wondered if it was just genetics and despite her best efforts her child will turn out yakuza. Her husband tenderly reassured her that she was taking things out of proportion. _'Kumiko is just a bit more independent than some. But that is a good thing. We want her to be independent. We want her to voice her thoughts. We want her to be able to take care of herself.'_ He'd say embracing his wife and kissing her forehead.

At the age of 7, Kumiko Yamaguchi's world shattered.

She was supposed to have been with them in the car. However, she had gotten into another fight at school, and she had been grounded. What was the fight about? She couldn't remember. Consequences for your actions, it was always about that. Her parents had warned her. Her parents had said that every action had a consequence and you had to deal with it. The consequences of her fight had inadvertently saved her life. Ironically, the consequences of their actions killed them.

As she walked to the door of the funeral home lined by strangers on either side, she heard rumors. Coded whispers about her family background swirled around which she didn't understand. A word here, a sentence there... nothing made sense. She opened the door and was greeted by a sea of white. Lined in perfect little rows were white folding chairs neatly facing the room's focal point. There, taking center stage, were twin caskets laid side by side.

All eyes were on her as she walked slowly towards the caskets. She didn't cry. She couldn't cry, not right now. There were too many people scrutinizing her every move. She felt on display and she was the freak show they had come to attend. She tried ignoring them as she stood before the caskets. She was too short to see inside. A part of her hoped that it had been a mistake. For a second, she toyed with the thought that someone else's parents lay there. However, she had to know. If there was something her parents taught her was to face her fears. She wasn't going to start backing away now. She had to see.

She took one of the chairs and placed it beside one coffin. She stood on it and looked inside. It was her father. Most people say that their loved ones looked peaceful upon seeing their dead remains. Not Kumiko Yamaguchi. She looked at her father and he looked dead. His eyes were closed but he didn't look like he was asleep. His expression looked forced, manufactured. She climbed down the chair and now positioned it beside her mother's coffin. She climbed up again. Her mother's expression was no better. Her hair was fashioned differently. Her skin looked pale but not like when you haven't had sun by being inside all those winter months. Her skin looked ashen, sickly, dead. She climbed down and placed the chair back. She dusted the seat and sat down.

She was sitting alone on the front seats, her dead parents her only company. The rest of the people gathered in the back as if death was contagious.

She wished she had siblings. She wanted someone that understood her pain. She wanted someone that was mourning with the same intensity as she was, or at least close to it. However she had none, and at that moment she realized how alone she was. It was then that the parade of people trying to comfort her began.

Some of her friend's parents would come and talk to her. She didn't really listen. She put on a fake smile and nodded at whatever they said. She caught one of them saying "You've got to be brave now." What kind of thing was that to say to a child? She felt as if she had been denied her grief with that statement. She had been told she wasn't supposed to mourn. Her eyes which had been expressionless until now had a determined look and a fury to them. And with controlled anger, she glared at the man who had dared made such a statement. The man backed away slowly.

Some of her parent's friends were there too, but they didn't say anything. They would come up to her and looked at her with a pained smile. They patted her head sympathetically. But they couldn't understand. They didn't know what it felt like. They were trying their best but she'd rather they left her alone.

She wondered what will happen to her now. Her heart sank when she thought she might have to live with one of these idiots until they knew what to do with her. She'd be tossed around like a hot potato. She'd always been good at the game. Now, she'd be the hot potato and heavens only knew which unfortunate soul she'd be handed to. She smirked at her own misfortune.

She didn't want to be bothered anymore. She was tired of the sympathetic smiles. She was tired of the knowing glances exchanged by the adults. She was tired of people trying to cheer her up. She wanted to be left alone with her misery.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and looked up. She saw a man flanked by two other men wearing sunglasses. It was slightly odd. She would have found it funny if the circumstances had been different. Right now, she didn't care. She looked at him defiantly. This expression made the man smile. It took her by surprise but she covered it. Without any preambles he said "I am your grandfather from your mother's side." She had no family and she didn't know what this idiot wanted. "And, I am the King of Japan." She said without inflection. This made the man give a hearty laugh while the two men that flanked him smirked in amusement. "Well, your majesty, you'll be staying at my house from now on. It is not a palace but it will have to do." He said seriously though his eyes were still amused. She blinked slowly and shrugged.

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_Acclaratory Note_: According to the manga, Ryuuichirou's last name is not really Kuroda but Inaba. The clan's name is Kuroda. The confusion arises when, in the manga, they refer to him as Kuroda Ryuuichirou. Whether it was supposed to be Kuroda's Ryuuichirou or some kind of internal yakuza rule that the leader should adopt the last name, it is uncertain. For the purposes of this story, I will take the stand that, though his last name is Inaba, he is so well known as the Boss of the Kuroda clan that his last name has been assumed to be Kuroda. Keep this in mind for future reference.

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	2. About Bedtime Stories And Such

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

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**About Bedtime Stories And Such **_(age 7)_

Four months had passed since her parents died. She had moved to a new school so she didn't know anyone there. She had gained a family she didn't know she had. Though to her they were still a bunch of strangers. She wasn't yet sure if she wanted to be here. In retrospect, they didn't seem to be a bad bunch of people. She should give them a chance. She had been entrusted to the care of the one called Kyou but her grandfather would talk to her when he wasn't busy. Whereas her mother tried to get her to act a little more lady-like, this bunch seemed to think her behavior was normal and that suited her just fine. With a sad expression, she thought that she would give anything to hear her mother nagging her or her father's chuckle when she'd run towards him as soon as he got home.

She trudged around her new life as if any actual effort to do things would be painful. She didn't act, she reacted. Though she did seek places and situations where she was forced to react. That was the extent of her efforts to continue on living. During the day she distracted her thoughts with anything and everything around her. Everything was a good source of distraction, a good source of occupying her mind on needless things. But the nights, the nights were lonelier and the pain that had been tightly bound and shackled would unfurl slowly and tentatively until it reached full bloom only to be bound again in the morning. At night, there were no distractions. There was nothing to occupy her mind. The darkness oppressed her.

Every night, two Kuroda men and their Boss would watch silently over a weeping 7 year old Kumiko Yamaguchi. Their concerned faces taking turns peering through the slightly ajar door of the child's bedroom. The young heir never noticed her audience whose only clue of her state was the occasional snivel that escaped her. She was curled in the fetal position on her bed facing the window. The tears from the left eye making the arduous travel across the bridge of her nose as they coalesced with the waiting tears of the right eye. These corpulent tears, now succumbing to gravity due to their portly state, fell silently on her pillow.

_"Every night she just goes to her room and cries"_, whispered Kyoutarou to the Boss

_"Well, the child lost both her parents. It's understandable"_, murmured Wakamatsu

_"But, it has been 4 months now. She should be past the crying stage. Shouldn't she?"_ The worried look of the Kuroda leader fell on his two subordinates whose response was a slight shrug. The Kuroda leader started pacing. His two underlings followed suit.

_"What did you use to do with Kumiko's mother when she was little and she needed to be soothed?" _whispered Kyoutarou

_"I used to let my wife deal with her."_ The Boss grimaced as he rubbed his forehead.

_"What about bedtime stories. Children love bedtime stories. It might be soothing. You know? ...something familiar"_, whispered Wakamatsu. The Boss nodded. At least it was better than nothing.

He knocked softly on the door before opening it. "May I come in?" The girl nodded as she sniffed to clear her nose. She wiped her tears before shifting on the bed to face the strange man they claimed was her grandfather.

Looking at her, the grandfather could not help but think about his own daughter and all the missed opportunities. He had tunnel vision when it came to dealing with her and ultimately it had cost him. She left without saying goodbye. His wife didn't say anything but she didn't have to. The look she gave him was enough. He wished she had screamed at him or even hit him. He couldn't bare that look. She blamed him for pushing their only daughter out of their lives.

Towards the last days of her life she had confessed she had clandestinely kept in touch with Yuriko. He remembered her pained smile as she said she had tried to get Yuriko to make peace with him but Yuriko was her father's daughter after all. And then, _she_ asked _him_ to forgive her for not telling him. No one knew but he cried, whether out of shame or guilt, he wasn't sure. And as her life ebbed away, he assured her she was blameless and it was he who needed forgiveness. A last promise to his wife had led him to try to get in touch with his daughter but Yuriko would not hear of it. Now she too was gone and all that was left was this small child. This was his 2nd chance, a chance to seek atonement through his granddaughter.

He looked at the child whose eyes had remained fixed on him. "Would you like me to tell you a bedtime story?" The girl nodded to the welcomed distraction.

"Well, let's see..." Now, if he only knew a bedtime story... "Oh yeah!"

-o-

The two subordinates were listening outside the door. The Boss was talking softly so the two had to strain to hear

_"Which story do you think he'll tell her?"_

_"Dunno. Don't think he knows any. Does he?"_

"Peter Pan was the leader of his clan." Unfortunately, the Kuroda Kumichou barely remembered the story. _'Crap, what happened in that doggone story?...'_ The only reason why this story stuck in his mind was because of Peter Pan's clan affiliation. I mean, Peter Pan could not be such a bad fellow if he had managed to be the Boss of his own gang. And, the story couldn't be lame if clans were involved. But, try as he may, all that he could recall were a few specs here and there. Kuroda held the bridge of his nose. A headache threatening to make an appearance.

"The clan was called The Lost Boys." He recalled The Lost Boys were a bunch of kids. How did they get involved in the clan? He didn't know. Was there some kind of initiation to prove themselves? Maybe that wasn't important to the story. I mean internal clan rules and politics were things that were probably boring to children. Kuroda rubbed his forehead.

"And, eventhough they were a bunch of kids, they were very organized."

_"huh?" _Wakamatsu looked at Kyou, wondering if it was a good idea to have the Boss tell a story to his granddaughter. Kyou's eyes opened wide in anticipation of the story.

_"Oooh! It sounds like it's gonna be a good one!"_ Wakamatsu raised an eyebrow at Kyoutarou's response.

"Now Peter Pan had this enemy: the Boss from another clan. His name was Captain Hook." In all honesty, the grandfather didn't have a recollection of Captain Hook being in another clan. He figured that since they were enemies, Captain Hook must be in another clan. I mean, which respectable Kumichou has for an enemy a katagi? That is unless the katagi is a policeman, but he was sure Captain Hook was not a policeman.

"Why were they enemies?" Her tears had dried now and she was interested in the story.

"Uh... Why were they enemies?!" The Kuroda Boss scratched his head. He could feel the heat rising to his head. Never before had he felt as cornered as this young child made him feel.

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"Er... Well... Ah, yes! Captain Hook wanted to takeover Peter Pan's territory", said the Boss with a big fat grin.

_"What!?"_

_"Sssshhhhh It's getting to the good part."_ Kyou brought an index to his lips to silence Wakamatsu. To say Kyou was giddy was an understatement. Wakamatsu's knowledge of the Peter Pan story was sketchy at best but he knew Captain Hook was in no clan nor was there strife concerning territories. He wasn't sure he wanted to listen to the rest.

_"I'm gonna get a glass of water."_ Kyoutarou totally engrossed in the story just waved a hand at Wakamatsu giving him the go ahead without looking at him.

In the kitchen, Wakamatsu took an empty glass from the cabinet. He just stared at it for awhile. He seriously considered he might be thrown out of the clan for suggesting this whole bedtime story thing or at the very least he might lose one of his pinkies. He had spent many years in the yakuza and had managed to keep all his fingers intact. It was something he was proud of and now he might lose one pinky. He looked at them almost longingly. He stretched his fingers in front of his face. He slowly curled them into fists as if that way he could hide the 'little pig' that was been threatened to 'hobble' all the way home. He was gonna miss having 10 fingers.

He started pacing in the kitchen reasoning with himself. It would be a stupid reason to be thrown out of the yakuza let alone to lose a pinky. He'd be the laughing stock of the kumi if it happened. No, the Boss wouldn't suggest either thing. But the more he reasoned, the more worried he became until he finally stopped all thoughts. Damn it, he was a yakuza. He needed to face this like a man. Granted that it was a man who was going to lose a finger because a 7 year old child was gonna be scared to pieces due to his boss' inability to tell a decent bedtime story which he, Wakamatsu, had suggested. His shoulders sagged at this thought. He put the empty glass back in the cabinet and instead got a shot glass out and poured some sake on it. He gulped it in one swig. He poured another shot and gulped it the same as the first. Nothing like alcohol to numb your senses when you might be about to lose an appendage. And with a sigh, he decided to head back and face his fate.

He walked slowly towards the child's door. Kyou was still listening. Seeing Wakamatsu approaching, he walked towards him and said "You missed the story. It had everything: a trainin' scene, fights and even a kidnappin'!"

"Did Ojou like it?" Wakamatsu said with a defeatist attitude.

"Of course she did. I told ya: trainin' scene, fightin' and kidnappin'. What's not to like?"

Wakamatsu could only mumble an 'I see' in astonishment.

"You're missing the BEST story though"

"Better than the Captain Hook territory takeover one?" Wakamatsu said sarcastically which was totally lost on Kyoutarou.

"Yes."

"So, he told her two stories." Wakamatsu said aloud in deep reflection.

"No, three but the one after the Peter Pan one was no good."

"What was it about?"

"It's about a kid named Jack who steals from this giant that lives up some beanstalk. The poor giant was double crossed by his wife. His wife of all people?! I tell ya! Of course, the giant is gonna be pissed off!!! That Jack was nothing but a common lil' thief!"

"It's not like Jack was a kumi." Wakamatsu said patiently

"He better not be. They'd laugh at him in the slammer. You know he'd just be someone's lil' bi-"

"Yeah, that's if he was caught." Wakamatsu interrupted Kyoutarou before he could finish. "So, what was the other interesting story?"

"Ah! It was about a wolf clan." Kyou tried to recall the story "They took a cub hostage from the lion clan. The story hasn't ended yet. But it seems they wanted to force the lion Boss to break their alliance with the pig clan."

Wakamatsu's eye twitched as he said "Uh... a h-hostage sit-situation?..."

_'I guess the Boss ran out of bedtime stories to twist around and started winging it'_ thought Wakamatsu. And the more he thought about it the more it sounded like the current situation at hand. There had been several attempts to kidnap Ojou. They think the Urufu no omo is responsible. According to some sources, they want to break the Kuroda family alliance with the Buta no o. This is the reason why under the guise of checking for the boogey man, they'd sweep over the room to make sure there was no one concealed trying to kidnap Ojou. Unfortunately, Ojou was not scared of the boogey man and protested the room sweep. It was also the reason why she was given specific instructions to announce whenever she left the house and whenever she came back.

Just then the Kuroda Kumichou stepped out of Ojou's room. He was sweating profusely and he looked like he might faint.

"Are you OK?" The worried looks of Wakamatsu and Kyou greeted him. The Boss just nodded.

"How did it go?" Wakamatsu asked as Kyou went to the kitchen to get some water.

"Well, she seemed to like the stories." Wakamatsu gave a sigh of relief as he looked at his fingers. He would still keep his pinkies for a while longer. Kyou gave the glass of water to the Boss. He thanked him and gulped the clear liquid.

"So what's the matter, Boss?" Kyou looked concerned.

"Ojou said that da lion clan should just charge into da wolf cave and teach 'em a lesson for takin' da cub. She suggested makin' and example of one of 'em by breakin' a tail and threatening 'em with an _I'm watchin' ya_"

The two Kuroda men looked at each other a little scared of their Ojou.

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A/N: I am not Japanese. The little Japanese I know is due to mangas and animes. I know that is pathetic. Anyway, if you are Japanese and care to enlighten me as to the use in regular speech and/or within Gokusen context, feel free. With that said,_  
1.Katagi_ - non-yakuza or normal people (as claimed by the translated version of the manga)  
_2.Yakuza_ - Japanese Mafia (I know, I know... if you are reading Gokusen you should know this.)  
_3.Kumi_ - gangster or clan (I am not sure about this. I use it as one of those two meanings.)  
_4.Urufu no Omo _- I made up this name. As far as I can tell it means Wolf's face or something to that matter.  
_5.Buta no O_ - I also made this up. I believe it means Pig's tail or something like that.  
_6.Ojou_ - princess (as claimed by the translated version of the manga)  
_7.Kumichou_ - Yakuza Boss 


	3. Show And Tell

_**A/N**_: Keep in mind that _"this is whispering or mumbling or a conversation that is hard to hear"_. Thus the conversation Principal Takeda overhears over the phone line as Kuroda talks to his men is in this form. Also, note that _'this is thinking'_. Lastly, the download manager screwed up my spacing so I am trying to force it with . . . . . . to try to give the conversation overheard on the phone line a sort of chaotic effect. I am still not satisfied. Shrug

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

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**Show and Tell **_(age 7) _

The Kuroda men were thankful that Ojou had finally stopped crying at night. This in no way interfered with the Boss' _unique_ bedtime stories which had become a nighttime ritual to the absolute delight of both Ojou and Kyou-san. Wakamatsu, on his part, had decided to avoid the Boss at all cost when he was in bedtime-story-mode.

All in all, she seemed to be settling down in the Kuroda household. She used to say 'I'm here' or 'I'm back' to announce her arrival, but she'd recently announced 'I'm home' making the Kuroda men send each other meaningful looks. And as thankful as they were over these new developments, they still found her a little quiet.

She was still getting used to the idea of having a grandfather. Not because she didn't like him but because the only family she'd ever remembered having was her parents so she wasn't sure what the dynamics of the grandfather-granddaughter relationship entailed. Curiosity was the reason why she would sometimes go to his office and watch him work. Though never for very long. At first, the Kuroda Kumichou would look at her waiting for a question that never came. Later, he'd learned to just continue what he was doing. He figured if she wanted to ask something she would do it in due time.

With Kyou-san, it was a different story. Oh, she would watch him but it was more than mere curiosity. Seeing as she had lost both her parents and Kyou-san had been given the task to take care of Ojou's every need, it was easy for her to see Kyou-san as a surrogate father. This was the reason why she followed him around everywhere he went. If anyone had stopped to think about it, they would have realized that the reason why Ojou followed Kyou-san around was her fear of losing him like she'd lost her father. It wasn't like her watchful eye could prevent Kyou-san from dying, especially considering his chosen... _profession_. But it gave her a sort of comfort to know where he was and what he was doing. However, no one bothered to ask this question. They were simply happy that the child was at least entertained. A bonus was that she wasn't getting in the way of yakuza business. But more importantly, if she was following Kyou, they knew were she was and it made the task of thwarting kidnapping attempts easier.

And so it was that Ojou was found sitting beside Kyou a week before her first Show and Tell while in the Kuroda household. She didn't say anything, she just watched him. He was used to this so he continued on his task. After several minutes of regarding him with objective interest, she asked what he was doing. Without looking at her, he said "Cleaning my guns." Of course, Kumiko being a child acted like a child. And who knows a child who can keep the number of questions they ask to just one? So Ojou proceeded to shower him with questions about the what and why of his actions. Kyou tried as best as he could to answer these questions while he continued to the task of cleaning his guns. She was so curious about the process that Kyou saw no harm in letting Ojou clean one of the many guns sprawled before him. He gave her step by step instructions on gun maintenance. And, with a fatherly look, he watched carefully as she followed his instructions. With swelling pride he said, "You little runt." as he continued on his task.

So when the time for Show and Tell came, it was no surprise that Ojou thought it would be a good idea to collect one of Kyou's guns from the many he kept in the unlocked safe in his room. After all, she was sure that nobody in that class had seen a gun before.

At school, everything had gone as usual. The cacophany of children's gay laughter filled the halls as they moved to their respective classes. Kumiko couldn't wait to _Show_... _and Tell_.

When it was finally her turn, she stood up and walked towards the front of the class carrying a small paper bag. She looked at everybody and said "Today I brought a handgun and I will show you proper handgun maintenance". Unceremoniously, she took the handgun out. Everyone was in awe except for the teacher who, taken by surprise, was currently in a state of willful denial.

"Now, the most important rule to follow, according to Kyou-san is, never, never, never point a firearm at someone else even if you know that your firearm has no bullets." She said as a warning. Her little index finger sweeping the room as she said this. Putting both hands on the firearm she added, "That is, unless you want to shoot them." She said this as calmly as if she had said that she had eggs for breakfast. Ms. Ishikawa was sure she'd misheard that last sentence.

"What I have here is a single action semi automatic handgun" She said showcasing it like a model in those damn prize shows. Ms. Ishikawa knew she needed to stop her student but there seemed to be no communication between the neurons in her brain. Synaptic transmissions had ceased and she was rooted to the back corner of the room unable to utter a sound. All she could do was gape with owlish eyes as the girl continued to _show_... _and tell_.

"The first thing you need to do is check that your firearm is unloaded." She proceeded to demonstrate like a magician showing that there were no hidden rabbits inside the hat. What Ms. Ishikawa was afraid of was that with one wave of Kumiko's hand somehow bullets would magically appear out of thin air like the damn rabbits in those magic shows. She saw Kumiko unhinge, open and press the different compartments of her firearm while giving the appropriate name for each part. Ms. Ishikawa was sure she was having a dream or more specifically a nightmare and she would soon wake up... She just had to!

"Run a bore brush coated with cleaner through the barrel se-" Ms. Ishikawa never heard the rest. At that moment her hearing ceased. She had gone deaf.

Technically she hadn't really gone deaf. All sounds seemed to have been drowned by a rhytmic rushing of waves which she could only presume was the sound of her own blood trying to supply the demand imposed by the now erratic movement of her heart as she felt it on the brink of a heartattack. She could see her student's mouth still moving as Kumiko continued cleaning and using some oils or cleansers or whatever the hell it was. She stuck a finger in one of her ears and shook it trying to see if her hearing would come back. _'You've gotta be kidding me!' _Just then she noticed that her eye had been twitching. _'This is great, juuuust grrreeat.' _She was developing a nervous tic. And, she surmised that by the time this school year was done she will have aged 10 years though she was barely 24. That is, if she was still a teacher by the end of the school year.

This was her second year as a school teacher. She knew she had been given this particular class because of Kumiko Yamaguchi. None of the other teachers wanted her in their classroom. It had nothing to do with the child who was really sweet though a bit rough around the edges. It had to do with the child's grandfather, Ryuuichirou Kuroda. No one wanted to have to call the Kuroda Kumichou if the child misbehaved. Since she was the rookie teacher, she was given the task. She thought she should have taken a year leave but deep down she knew that was not feasible.

She needed to calm her nerves. She reasoned that once she was calm she would be able to hear and move. Once she was able to do that, she could stop Kumiko-chan.

Her sister had given her a single valium as a joke when she found out that she would have to deal with a yakuza child. Ms. Ishikawa had given her a mock look of gratitude as she tossed the valium, which was in a snack ziplock bag, inside her purse. In all seriousness, her sister was a bit concerned about her safety but joking was the way she dealt with stressful situations.

If she could move she'd probably consider rummaging through her purse to look for it though she hated the idea of resorting to tranquilizers. But desperate times called for desperate measures... or so they say. Her only real vice was drinking the occasional glass of sake and if things continued like they were she might have to keep a bottle in her home. She sighed.

She decided that deep calming breaths were the way to go to calm her nerves. _(Inhale)... (Exhale)... _It seemed to be working. _ (Inhale)... (Exhale)... _She wondered if she should talk to the child about her choice of report. _(Inhale)... (Exhale)... _She decided against it. It could be construed as her passing judgement on the gun-toting kumi. _(Inhale).. (Exhale).. _She should just tell the principal and ask for Mr. Kuroda to drop by so they could discuss it._ (Inhale)(Exhale)(Inhale)(Exhale) _But, what Ms. Ishikawa didn't notice was that as her musings turned to the yakuza, she started hyperventilating.

Fortunately, the _whooooosh_ she'd been hearing stopped. Unfortunately it was replaced by her own labored breathing and, far in the background, the soft voice of one Kumiko Yamaguchi.

"-irearm is now ready for stor-" Kumiko stopped her report. She looked at her hyperventilating teacher. "Ms. Ishikawa?" She said tentatively. "Ms. Ishikawa?" Concerned written in her eyes. Kumiko slowly walked towards the teacher and touched her hand.

"Aaaaah!" Ms. Ishikawa jumped while giving a small yelp. Her panic attack spirited away by the jolt of the child's touch. The young Kuroda heir looked at her quizzically. "Ah... I'm sorry... I'm sorry." Ms. Ishikawa said embarrassed at her own reaction. Her embarrassment was compounded by the look on Ojou's face. "I'm fine. J-just go back to your desk. T-thank you for such an... _(ahem)(ahem)... _informative demonstration." Kumiko grinned and expertly put every piece back in place and into the paper bag.

"Class, please read chapter 2 for the remainder of the period." Of course, Ms. Ishikawa didn't know what the hell was chapter 2 about. And, at this point, she didn't care. She will worry about chapter 2 once she gets home. She needed time to get her bearings. She needed time to muster enough courage to talk to the principal and call Mr. Kuroda.

-o-

_Ring Ring_

"Hello"

"Is this Ryuuichirou Kuroda?" The Kuroda Kumichou didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the phone line.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Principal Takeda." Ryuuichirou was surprised to receive a call from Ojou's Principal. Little did he know that this would be the first of many many _many_ calls.

"I think you need to come over to the school" This, of course, caused the Boss to think the worst.

"What happened to Ojou? Was there another kidnapping attempt?" He blamed himself. He shouldn't have enrolled her in school. He should have just had her home-schooled. It wasn't like he didn't have the money. And, it wasn't like he was unfamiliar with the concept. After all, he had home-schooled his daughter, Yuriko.

It had been difficult to find tutors to come to the house to teach her but he'd managed. A lot of money in one hand and a threat or two on the other had finally convinced the would-be-tutors to agree to teach Yuriko. However with Ojou, he thought it best to keep her in school. After losing both her parents, he thought giving her something familiar was more important.

On the other end of the phone line, Principal Takeda frowned. _'**Another**__ kidnapping attempt?'_ And, the reality of having a yakuza heir slowly sank in. The school could potentially become the war zone on a yakuza war. Faced with this hypothetical situation, Principal Takeda started wondering what would be his next course of action in that situation. Should he talk to the police or the yakuza? Involving the police would make things be on the up and up. One point for police involvement. However, the chances of recovering the yakuza child alive might be minimal. One point for yakuza involvement. Either way, the school would be swarming with men carrying guns. The police wouldn't hurt the children. Though neither would the yakuza. Well, at least not the Kuroda clan. And either way, parents would balk at the thought of sending their children to a school in need of armed men for the safety of their children. _'This is definitely not good.'_ Unfortunately, the Kuroda Kumichou took Takeda's lack of response as confirmation of his worst thought.

"How long ago did it happen? It was probably the Urufu no omo. Do you have a description?" Kuroda didn't wait for an answer. In the background Principal Takeda could hear Ryuuichirou Kuroda's muffled voice as he talked to his men.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _"Wakamatsu, Kyou, get ready. We're going to Ojou's school."_

. . . . . . . . . . . _"Tsuji, Toru, call the rest of the men and wait for my instructions." _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To say things had gone from bad to worse was an understatement, and all Principal Takeda could do was try to gain the Kuroda Kumichou's attention. "Nonononono. That's not it." But, Principal Takeda was pointedly ignored. Ryuuichirou had pulled the phone away from his ear as he barked instructions at his subordinates.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _"Dai, stay here in case they contact the house."_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . ._"What?"_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _"What happened to Ojou?" _. . . . . . . . . . .

Principal Takeda continued his fruitless efforts to get the Kumichou's attention before things got out of hand. "No. Nothing! Nothing happened to Kumiko-chan. **Kumiko-chan is fine!**" Principal Takeda started yelling over the phone. But, Kuroda's Kumichou still couldn't hear him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _"OjoU's bEEn kiDNapPed!"_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Kuroda Kumichou's voice was barely controlled.

Principal Takeda knew that he needed to stop this before it got past the point of no return. And, if that happened, only God could get them out of this mess. **"No. Kumiko has not, I repeat HAS. NOT. been. kidnapped!!" **Principal Takeda's voice was beginning to sound hysterical.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._"Huh?!"_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _"Ojou!"_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There was chaos now on the other line as a flurry of footsteps could be heard. Deep in the background a few of the men called out their young heir.

. . . . . . . . . ._**"Ojooouuuu!!"**_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._**"Ojooouuuu!"**_. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._**"Ojooouuuu!!"**_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _**"Ojooouuu!!!"**_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Takeda felt like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. **"Ojou. IS. fine."** He was close to retirement and he'd hoped that these last few years would go without much consequence. Sadly, it didn't look like that was going to happen. He sighed. He needed an aspirin.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._"Get a hold of yourself men!"_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _(slap)_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_(slap) _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _(slap)_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Takeda winced at the sound of the three slaps. He was getting a migraine.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._"Get your guns and get in the car"_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A lone desperate cry was heard coming from the receiver the Kuroda Kumichou had pulled away. **"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!"** It was Principal Takeda's last effort to get Ryuuichirou Kuroda's attention. Fortunately it worked. The Kuroda Boss leaned his ear towards the phone which had been on his right hand the whole time.

"Whaaaaaaat?" The Kuroda Kumichou was a bit annoyed at being interrupted.

"Kumiko-chan is fiiiine! She has NOT been kidnapped!" Principal Takeda managed to be heard.

"Huh? Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Takeda's headache was throbbing now.

_'Where the hell is that damn bottle of aspirin?'_ Takeda thought as he rummaged through his desk. He wanted to say that he had tried to tell him but he thought it would be better for his health if he just let it go."It is about Kumiko's Show and Tell." A pregnant pause hung in the air. Principal Takeda could almost picture the confused look on the Kuroda Kumichou's face. "Just come on over" And realizing the hint of disrespect and annoyance on that sentence, he quickly added "Please."

-o-

_...one hour later, at the school_

"Come in Mr. Kuroda" Principal Takeda said giving a slight bow.

"Thanks." The Boss nodded.

"Hello. I'm Ms. Ishikawa." She bowed at the Kuroda Kumichou who nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, what is this about?" Kuroda felt that this was a waste of time. If his granddaughter hadn't been kidnapped then what the hell was he doing in the Principal's office?

"Today was Show and Tell" Ms. Ishikawa said. Kuroda and his two men blankly stared at her. She continued. "She brought a gun for Show and Tell." She thought this was enough to elicit some kind of response from them. Unfortunately, the three Kuroda men's only reaction was a slight nod of the head as if to say 'go on'.

"The gun was real." Principal Takeda offered. He really didn't think he'd have to spell out what was wrong with Kumiko-chan bringing a gun to school. Then again, he'd never had to deal with yakuza parents before. These were uncharted waters.

"Yeees?" The Kuroda Kumichou asked a bit irritated hoping they would get to the point.

Ms. Ishikawa saw that diplomacy was needed. And without judgement or recrimination, as tactfully as she could, she asked, "May I ask, who lent her the gun?"

"Hmm... Let's see. Did one of ya lent her a gun?" The Boss looked lazily at his subordinates. The Boss and his two subordinates leisurely took out their pieces to examine them. Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa took a step back unsure about how to react at their nonchalant attitude. "Well, we all have our regular guns. It could have been any of the kumi." The Boss said casually.

Faced with this response, Ms. Ishikawa started hallucinating. She could just see it now. It would start with the student's parents up in arms demanding her dismissal for having allowed this child to bring a gun into the classroom.

"Ah, Boss! She probably took it from my safe. I forgot to lock it and I keep a few guns there." said Kyou waving a hand as if he had just remembered where he left his toothbrush.

Ms. Ishikawa didn't hear Kyou as she continued with her rant. It would progress with the media sensationalizing the news and probably claiming the yakuza was calling the shots in the school.

"You always forget to lock it" Wakamatsu smirked.

And from there it would degrade into a media frenzy as they would camp outside the school... no, outside her house trying to get a glimpse of the teacher who started it all until she eventually would be forced to move out of her house and hide. Her teaching credentials stripped.

"Shuddup!" Kyou said dismissive.

_'Come on, get a hold of yourself!'_ She rolled her eyes._ 'Don't be so melodramatic.'_ She scolded herself. Still, she knew there was a chance that things could degenerate into such an outcome. _'It wouldn't be the end of the world, would it?'_ She put away her thoughts as she focused her attention on the men before her.

"Ah, that explains it." The Boss said between chuckles as way of an explanation. The three smiling men looked at the principal and the teacher, who in turn were eyeing them warily.

"Uh... I think you are missing the point here." Principal Takeda said.

"Well, let's see you wanted to know who let Ojou bring a gun. Kyou had left his safe unlocked so that answers that. Since it wasn't our regular guns, that gun wasn't loaded, right?" Kuroda looked at Principal Takeda who looked at Ms. Ishikawa who simply nodded.

Ms. Ishikawa got distracted again by her own train of thought. She reasoned it was stupid to jump to conclusions. The parents might surprise her and not do anything. _'Geez, even I don't believe my own pep talk.'_ she thought a bit bitterly. The only good thing was that the parents might be too intimidated to pursue any legal action against the school seeing as the Kuroda clan would be involved. In any case, the gun was unloaded and she could always claim the gun was a prop. But she knew that there was nothing else she could do. Thoughts of her being fired re-emerged.

"Soooo," Curiosity took the best of Kyou seeing as no one had said anything in the last 5 seconds. "What did she say about the gun?" Kyou leaned in as he tried really hard to contain his excitement. At this question, the Kuroda Kumichou and Wakamatsu leaned in expectantly.

"S-she talked about gun m-maintenance." Ms. Ishikawa said bewildered at the excitement on the three hardened men.

Her deranged chatter commenced once again. _'I could probably get a small farm. Yeah, I could live off the land. Nothing wrong with that.'_ Images of cows, chickens and corn floating in her head. Her thoughts were interrupted by Kyou.

"Ah!" Kyou shook his head smiling modestly. "I guess she really was listening when I taught her that."

"Ojou is very perceptive." The Kuroda Kumichou said smiling as Wakamatsu elbowed Kyoutarou approvingly.

"Well, she did say that Kyou-san had told her to never point a gun at anyone even if you think it has no bullets" she made a dramatic pause "unless your intention is to shoot them." Ms. Ishikawa said wondering what their reaction would be particularly to the last part.

"Yeah, safety first." Wakamatsu said while he held Kyou's shoulder with his right arm and patted him on the chest with his left hand.

"That's the most important rule." The Boss nodded as he proudly patted Kyou on the back. Kyou blushed as he basked in the glow of all the attention he was receiving. "I betcha Ojou's was the best Show and Tell." The Boss said dreamily hoping he had seen it personally. Principal Takeda was alarmed at the casual interaction between the Kuroda men.

"She. Brought. A. Gun." Principal Takeda tried to emphasize. The Kuroda Boss and his men blinked thrice with a blank expression as if waiting for the punchline. And if this had been a show on T.V. you would have heard crickets chirping here. Ms. Ishikawa noting that the men didn't understand the gravity of the situation simply tried to look for a different approach so that it wouldn't happen again. After all, she really didn't know anything about farming though she once had some chickens as pets.

"Well, I guess we just have to make sure Kumiko-chan doesn't bring any more guns. You never know who might try to use it against her. And we don't want that, do we?" Ms. Ishikawa said patiently.

"Well, how could they use it against her? It's unloaded!" Kyou said baffled.

"Yeah, unless you throw the gun at her..." Wakamatsu said thoughtfully as his index finger tapped his lips. The Kuroda Kumichou scratched the back of his head with a puzzled frown as he wondered how an unloaded gun could be used against his only granddaughter.

Ms. Ishikawa knew she was losing them and added, "Maybe, but someone might think that it is loaded and if several parents find out they might ask us to have Kumiko-chan suspended or expelled." This seemed to do the trick as the Boss and his two underlings nodded at the sage words. All they wanted to do was keep Ojou in school.

"Yeah. I guess no more guns for Ojou." Wakamatsu and Kyoutarou said in unison.

"At least, for now" Kuroda's Kumichou added as an afterthought.

* * *

_Acclaratory note:_ Honorifics are something that I quite not understand. I had the impression that the lack of honorifics means more familiarity. But the level of familiarity depending on the honorific used baffles me. Would a teacher and principal refer to Kumiko as Kumiko-chan or Yamaguchi-kun or what? Is there a difference between honorifics for different genders? I do not know. So, take Kumiko-chan as a sign of respect from adults and peers unless someone explains to me this baffling phenomenon. Thus, if anyone cares to enlighten me, please do so as I am quite curious. 


	4. Bullied

_**A/N**_: This chapter contains a spoiler from the manga. The dialogue taken from the manga is the conversation between Ojou and Kyou. Parts of the dialogue were taken out. I didn't feel like writing dialogue that wasn't really written by me but I needed to put in snippets of it that were important to the story. If you desire to see the whole dialogue between Kyou and Ojou, please read the manga. It is actually quite funny. This chapter was written to explain the instance in the manga where she mentions the only nickname she had ever had was Kumichou. The rest of this cockamamy story is mine, all mine.

_**(P.S.)**_ : I had originally intended to make each chapter about a particular childhood experience. However, that requirement turned this chapter into an extremely long one. Thus, I was forced to divide it into two chapters. On the upside, I uploaded both chapters today. Also, I merged part of Show And Tell.2 - Consequences into this one. This chapter is a whole lot more subdued than the last one. I guess this one would be classified more as General/Action. The next one has some humor. I'm sorry if you were expecting all humor. Sometimes you just have to be serious... just a warning.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Bullied **_(age 7)_

Right after the incident in Show and Tell with the gun, the children had been awestruck. No one had ever seen a gun so it gave the young Kuroda heir a level of notoriety not seen in the school before. Everyone had started to talk about it including the children that were not in her class. She became the top Kahuna in the playground. Of course, the title of top Kahuna came with a small price. Her schoolmates talked liberally about her. Which wouldn't be a bad thing had Kumiko Yamaguchi been a normal run-of-the-mill kid. But, as she wasn't, it became a bit of a problem.

It was a few weeks after the gun maintenance incident when the news reached the ears of a few of the parents. This incited several phone calls to the principal's office. After the third parent called regarding the young Kuroda child, Principal Takeda instructed Ms. Asaoka to tell them the incident was of no consequence. It had been merely a Show And Tell report and if they really wanted to discuss it further they could meet him on Friday afternoon.

Ms. Asaoka was Principal Takeda's secretary. She was on the plump side. Her short hair making her circular face rounder than it really was. Her soft curls were lightly graying giving the illusion that they shimmered with the light.

She was a mild-mannered woman in her late 40's. Her calm composure in the most chaotic circumstances had made her invaluable to Principal Takeda particularly now that they had to deal with the unintentional indiscretions of a young yakuza child. It was this immutability in her demeanor that the children, about to be chastised by the principal, found slightly comforting while they waited to be seen. She'd just nod at them neither condoning nor accusing them. She'd announce their presence to the principal and they'd wait in one of the four chairs that were against the wall facing her desk until the principal came out of his office to fetch them.

Her desk was right outside Principal Takeda's office door. She kept it tidy. On the left side there was a medium-sized crystal bowl filled with assorted candies. On the right side there was a frame containing a picture of a distinguished looking man smiling at her. He looked to be about Ms. Asaoka's age. What no one knew was that the distinguished looking man was actually seven years younger than her. It wasn't that he looked older but that she looked younger than her years. She never mentioned the fact to anyone. But then again, Ms. Asaoka kept a lot of things to herself. Principal Takeda was grateful for this because there were times when he had to appraise her of a situation that could be problematic. This particular incident had been no exception.

On Friday afternoon, the receiving area of Principal Takeda's office was littered with twelve parents milling around waiting to speak with him. Ms. Asaoka sat at her desk studying the clustered groups in animated conversation as they rehearsed their plan of attack against the young Kuroda child. Amazingly enough, none of their children were in the same class as said child. Ms. Asaoka was also amazed at the low turnout considering they had received around 30 calls on the matter.

Ms. Ishikawa had been summoned by Principal Takeda to witness this meeting. Ms. Ishikawa's arrival to the office was met with disinterest. No one knew she was the young heir's teacher so they continued their conversation. It wasn't until Principal Takeda made an appearance that a blanket of silence fell on them. He didn't meet them in his office since it was too small to fit that many people. So, he talked to them in the receiving area.

"Well, you're all here to talk about the Show And Tell in Ms. Ishikawa's class." Principal Takeda gestured an open palm to where Ms. Ishikawa was standing. Ms. Ishikawa nodded slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah! We want to know what you are doing about that yakuza kid?" Principal Takeda opened his mouth but it was Ms. Ishikawa who answered the question.

"First of all, let's not call her the yakuza kid." She said sternly. "Second of all, there is nothing to do."

"What do you mean there is nothing to do?" One of the parents said.

"You can suspend that little kumi-in-training!" Another parent added while the rest assented. A series of discordant whispers filled the room.

Principal Takeda raised his voice over the disgruntled mumbles. "Now, now... we need to stop the name calling here." Principal Takeda wanted to keep tempers from rising. "There really isn't a reason to suspend the child."

"But our children were in danger!" As predicted by Ms. Ishikawa's temporary state of mental confusion, they were trying to get the child suspended out of supposed concern for the safety of their children. Ms. Ishikawa wasn't sympathetic since these parents hadn't even bothered to find out what had really happened. They just assumed that, since the child was the Kuroda heir, she had been running around the school with a loaded gun pointing it at people. The state of agitation of the parents was increasing.

Ms. Ishikawa, true to her delirious rant at the time of the incident, explained the situation as calmly as she could. "The children were not in any danger. This was merely a Show And Tell report."

"But, the gun-" Ms. Ishikawa interrupted him.

"It was an unloaded _prop_ brought specifically for Show And Tell. " She felt slightly guilty for claiming it was a prop but she convinced herself it was for the best. Sure, she was doing it to keep her own job but if she had thought the children were in real danger she wouldn't manipulate the truth like that. After all the times she had spent dealing with... _Ojou_ she realized the child was harmless. Though the yakuza influence made her social interactions seem a bit twisted. And, as far as the Kuroda men were concerned, eventhough they dabbled in illegal business deals, their main goal regarding their Ojou was to keep her safe and in school. And really, that is what all parents want for their children. That their approach on how to keep Ojou safe and in school differ drastically to most was an understatement. However, the Kuroda clan were yakuza from the old-school and that made them more tolerable than the new kumi springing up.

She continued her explanation stressing that if they suspended Kumiko-chan then they'd have to suspend the student from another class who brought a fishing pole with hooks and all. As coincidences would have it, the parent of said child was present and he said defensively "You can't kill anyone with hooks." Ms. Ishikawa carefully explained that hooks could gouge someone and unloaded props can't kill anyone. "It wasn't like he was running around trying to fling a hook at the other students. It was brought merely for a report. Thus, he was just warned against bringing something that dangerous. The next time he might get detention or suspension. The same goes for Kumiko-chan." And as the _coup de grace,_ she rephrased the response one of the kumis had given her. "What can she do with an unloaded _prop_? Fling it at someone?" Ms. Ishikawa stifled a laugh at the recollection of said kumi. This response seemed to quiet down the droning sound of their protests as they grudgingly conceded. Ms. Ishikawa smirked a self-satisfied look which didn't go unnoticed by Ms. Asaoka.

The whole thing was quite amusing. Ms. Asaoka's curiosity was piqued by the young child who Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa seemed to be defending. She wasn't sure if it was because the child really wasn't at fault or because they were scared of the yakuza or both. She concluded that most likely it was a healthy dose of the child just not knowing any better with a hint of fear of the yakuza. She didn't blame them.

As Principal Takeda herded the throng of parents out of his secretary's office, he looked at Ms. Ishikawa with admiration. At first, he'd felt guilty for giving Ms. Ishikawa the class containing the yakuza child. He'd feared that someone so young might not be able to stand up to the parents let alone the kumi. Not that he did a great job at standing up to the kumi himself. Still Ms. Ishikawa had surprised him with her ability to find the common ground between two separate views to try to negotiate some sort of mutual understanding.

The parents, however, having their hands virtually tied, simply cautioned their children about playing with the young Kuroda heir. No explanation was really given, frightened of what the clan might do to them.

Now, children at this age are curious. You tell a child not to stick their fingers in the socket and it sparks their curiosity. They'd steal furtive looks at the banned object. Maybe it's mere curiosity or maybe it's viewed as a challenge or maybe it's just a test of how far can they push the envelope before consequences are met. It doesn't matter what the reason is, you can almost see their inner turmoil as they try not to jam their little fingers into the forbidden object. Then again that is true of most adults as well. Ah... but I digress.

So the children would steal furtive looks towards the young heir. They were cautious around her. They studied her from afar as if she was an anomaly, a curiosity. The ones pushing the envelope would talk to her with a mixture of awe and guarded interest. The girls were much more compliant towards their parents warnings, though a few of them would talk to her as if in the presence of an unusual phenomenon. Her notoriety had not waned, it had simply been... redirected. Needless to say, Ojou didn't have any real friends.

The parents were not the only ones concerned. The faculty commented amongst themselves in hushed tones. These comments were inevitably overheard by a few children. Not that any of them understood what they heard. But, the rancor and prejudice in the teachers' voices had them trying to examine the words heard.

This was how teasing began for Kumiko Yamaguchi. Kumiko merely ignored it. After all, teasing was a fact of life, a right of passage. Everyone that has gone to school has experienced it in one form or another. Unaware of the fine art of filtering comments, the connection between thought and speech lies undeveloped. Which is the reason why most parents rue the day their children learned to speak. Their most intimate and indiscreet moments lay for all to hear, voiced without motivation or emotion. Once the children reach elementary school, vestiges of this foot-in-mouth sort of speech remains. However, at this stage it is commingled with a need for social acceptance and/or power. Admittedly, some people never fully outgrow this particular stage. But, that is an argument for another story.

So a few of the students would merely repeat what was heard without malice or emotion. They repeated for the sake of repeating and as such she took it. Had it stayed like that it would have been no big deal. However, Jiro had been one of the children hearing those comments. He was also the bully of the playground, and didn't appreciate this newcomer usurping attention away from him. And so it was that Jiro used his influence to instigate some of his cronies to repeat what they had heard their teachers say, with as much rancor as they had heard, when Kumiko passed by.

Now, Kumiko Yamaguchi got mad. It wasn't because of what was said since in all honesty she didn't understand half of what was said to her. She didn't need to understand. The look of hatred in their eyes when they said it and the mocking timbre in their voices was enough. She knew it was meant as an insult What had changed? She didn't know and it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she needed to defend herself and she did it the only way she knew how... fighting.

She smirked at the four boys who had immediately stopped the name calling surprised that a girl would stand up to them. The young girl wasn't a bad fighter but she wasn't even close to the best. After all, it was 4 against 1 and no one was watching. They took advantage of this. Two of the boys shoved her between them as if she was a ping pong ball until one of them delivered a hard push that sent her backwards to the ground. They quickly crouched down, each pinning her wrists. The one on the left using his hand to hold the left side of her face to the ground. She struggled to release her arms and face to no avail.

"What are you gonna do now?" Akira, one of the boys not pinning her down, said with a bored expression on his face as he and Jiro slowly approached her. Meanwhile, the smug faces of the two boys holding her down turned to impish grins. The one on the left released her face as they both prepared to punch her. Seeing the two fists about to come down on her, she did the only thing she could think of which was bite the arm of one of the boys holding her captive effectively stopping that punch though he hadn't released her. She wasn't as lucky with the other one. It connected right on her stomach and she gritted her teeth so as not to cry out in pain. The only thing was that instead of feeling tooth on tooth, she felt something soft. It only took a second to realize that it was the arm of the boy she had bitten a few seconds ago. The boy yelped releasing his grip. With her left arm free, she quickly grabbed him by the hair pushing his head towards the boy holding her right wrist. The shock of the headbutt cause the other boy to release her as well. And, before they could focus their eyes again, she bumped their heads together once more. There was a look of shock on both their faces as they scrambled backwards away from her.

She didn't have time to stand up. Akira had managed to grab her right leg while she was forcing the other two to headbutt. At the moment, he was dragging her with some difficulty. Before she could be dragged any further, she lifted her left leg and delivered a kick right to his face. A crimson trail from his nose to his chin quickly appearing. She scrambled to stand up coming face to face with Jiro. She was doing a decent job of defending herself, but it was only a matter of time before they'd have the upper hand again.

A group of students appeared in the distance as Jiro was about to lunge towards her. He stopped. He was going to wait for them to pass. After all, his reputation would be ruined for ganging up on a girl. Had she been a boy, he would have welcomed the audience as a show of power. However, one of the students coming towards them was Kumiko's classmate. Seeing her all muddy, he stopped to ask if she was OK.

"I fell." Kumiko said glaring at Jiro.

"Here, I'll walk you home" the boy named Yoshiro offered. She had seen him in her class but they'd never actually talked. ...until now.

"I'm fine" Kumiko's eyes never left Jiro's. Yoshiro, along with a couple of other students, had seen what had transpired. At first, they weren't going to do anything seeing as they were afraid of Jiro. However, seeing Kumiko stand up to them and fight gave them the courage to do something for her. After all, they knew Kumiko wouldn't stand a chance if the fight continued, and everything would go back to Jiro being the ass he'd always been. Yoshiro thought it was best to let him stew on his apparent defeat for now.

"Ah, it's no problem." Yoshiro said taking furtive glances at Jiro and his little friends. "I've seen you walking to school in the mornings so my house must be on your way to school." He nudged her to move with him. Jiro, not wanting an audience when he was about to fight dirty with a girl, decided it was better to leave. He diverted his eyes towards his friends and with a slight tilt of the head informed them they were leaving. Only then did Kumiko let herself be led.

She thought she was going to get her ass handed to her or worse. She rubbed her stomach absentmindedly. She was thankful that Yoshiro had arrived then and that she hadn't been sent to the principal's office this time.

When they arrived at Yoshiro's house, Ojou regarded him thoughtfully. He had sad looking eyes that were some times covered by his straight hair. She thought it was a bit long for a 7 year old boy. She wondered how he'd managed to get around the school policy of boys maintaining short hair. She'd much later find out the answer to this riddle.

"Do you want to come in and play?" Yoshiro really wanted to ask why had Jiro targeted her, but he was sure she wouldn't answer.

"...not today. Thanks" It was all she said as she headed home. Once near the threshold, she tried straightening her uniform and cleaning some of the mud to no avail. After brushing her hair with her fingers, she tried sneaking in only to be caught by Kyou as she was trying to inconspicuously dash into her room.

"Ojou!" Kyou followed the young heir. "When did you get home?" Ojou didn't answer nor stop her hasty retreat. He ran after her. "You have to go tell your grandfather you're home when you get back, remember..." Kyou had only meant to admonish her against sneaking in when he saw the state in which she arrived. "Ah, craaaap! You're covered in mud!!" He stared at her as if waiting for an explanation. All she could do was ask what the boys had meant.

"What's a Yakuza? Are Yakuza bad people?" Kyou had pointedly ignored the first question and concentrated on the second.

"Uh... well... they're not exactly bad... Of cOurSE... TheY'RE nOT ExaCTly GoOd, EIthEr" As he was trying to explain, it dawn on him what had happened.

"**AAH! Could it be that you were bullied?!**" Kyou began to lose his temper. However, her manner was uncharacteristic of someone that had been bullied. Looking at him, she related the events with frightening evenness.

"**WHAAAATT! THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET AWAY WITH THIS!"** Kyou's anger swelled over. He raised his arms. His jaw tightened. His clenched fists trembled as if strangling an imaginary opponent.** "WHICH DAMN BRAT'S RESPONSIBLE?!**"

Ojou listened unmoved to his rampant threats against the ones responsible until he said the following.

"**I'LL GO AND SHOW 'EM WHAT THEY'VE DONE!!**" Ojou stopped him. She wasn't crying nor was she shaken by what had happened in the schoolyard. She was poised and controlled. She was undaunted. The only expression that served as testament of prior events was the slight crease of her brow and the slight purse of her lips as she said...

"I'll do it myself." The determined fire in her eyes now taking over. "I wanna deal with this myself." Thoughts of kicking Jiro's ass dancing in her head.

"...huh?!" It was all Kyou could muster.

"Kyou-san, you're the stronger fighter, right?" Ojou said as a plan formed in her head. "I wanna become strong too. So, teach me how to fight?"

This was how Ojou started training with Kyou. Also, this is how she learned how to stop the opponents move with the first hit.

"You aim for three places when you do that! The face! The pit of the stomach! And of course! The balls!" Ojou's enthralled eyes took in his every word.

Consequently, every Monday and Wednesday as soon as she came from school and on Sundays two hours after lunch, Kyou trained Ojou in the art of fighting. And though he wouldn't admit it, Kyou was proud.

-o-

Of course, the news of Ojou's small altercation, and the nature of it, reached her grandfather's ears. This urged the grandfather to have a little talk with Ojou about the yakuza and katagis.

"Ojou, we need to talk." Now, eventhough Ojou was only 7 years old, she knew the magnitude of those words.

"I was only defending myself." She quickly interrupted before her grandfather had a chance to continue. He reached over and ruffled her hair.

"It's not that." She was a yakuza heir. He knew there was no point in telling her not to fight. She will eventually have to fight for her life. This event, he considered, was merely practice. In all honesty, he was proud that she had defended herself. "I just want to explain something about us." She just stared at him expectantly.

"We are yakuza but not the modern kind of yakuza." He said determinedly. "The Kuroda clan are yakuza from the old-school." He continued. "With that, I mean that we protect our community and we do not hurt civilians."

"So, we are like the okami?" Kuroda bristled at the comparison.

"No. We are better because we get things done... quickly." The young Kuroda heir nodded in understanding. "The Kuroda clan does not support drug use though I know of other clans that do. Also, we are not thieves or rapists. Thieves are petty good for nothing f-." He stopped on his rant and once he had gained his composure he continued. "Thieves are beneath us and rapists are even less than that."

"Why don't we just leave the job of protecting the community to the okami?" The grandfather wondered how he could explain to his granddaughter that some of the places they protected were of ill-repute and they were less likely to seek police protection.

"We offer our protection to _shopping _and _entertainment_ establishments. We also have a few of these establishments ourselves." He stopped to choose his words carefully. "Um... er... well, these places tend to do things that might be a _little _outside the law so they don't trust the okami to protect them."

"So, how come the okami don't come after us?"

"Well, they sometimes do. But, we have a sort of symbiotic relationship with them."

"s-sym-symbiotic?" Ojou asked. Kuroda nodded.

"It means we depend on each other. They don't get involved in internal matters in recognized territories and we cooperate with the okami and keep non-gang trouble-makers off the street. We surrender suspects to the authorities, exchanging information with the okami. That is why you should never go against the okami." Ojou nodded at this.

"However, things are changing and the new yakuza is a bit more violent than before. This is the reason why the okami have us under constant scrutiny lately. The new kumi don't uphold the honor and loyalty they once did. The code of the samurai is lost." Kuroda said sadly. He knelt down and put each hand on her shoulders. He looked sternly at her and said, "Just remember that we, the Kuroda kumi, are not like that. You are the only pure blood of the Kuroda clan. If something happens to me you will be in charge. Remember to uphold the values of old. Also, remember that every action has its consequences. And even more crucial, the consequences of your actions will affect the Kuroda clan so you have to be careful with what you do or not do. Do you understand, Ojou?"

"Yes, grandpa. I understand." She never wavered. It still boiled down to that... consequences for her actions. It just kept coming back to bite her right in the ass.

* * *

_Acclaratory Note_: I am not trying to romanticize the mafia. I am merely trying to lay to rest the unconventional depiction of the yakuza in contrast with the view we Americans have of the mafia. In the manga, the yakuza aren't exactly covert, clearly labeling their territory. Their distinct clothing make them stand out more than Batman's villains. Then, why aren't they in more trouble? Also the fact that Kumiko captured these guys in her younger years and left them for the police to find eventhough she was in the yakuza environment seemed odd to me. So, from the data found in wikipedia and other sites I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for the _**Kuroda clan **_which is after all just a fictitious clan. I am not laying claim on what the real yakuza present or past do or have done.

_**A/N**_:  
_1. okami_ - police in yakuza talk (according to the translated version of the manga)  
_2. katagi _- non yakuza or civilians (according to the translated version of the manga)  
_3. kumi_ - clan or gangster (according to the translated version of the manga)


	5. On Acts Of Attrition & Nicknames

_**A/N**_: The manga mentions she had a nickname growing up but doesn't say how it came about. This is how I envision she got her nickname. As I said in the previous chapter, this is really the second part of Bullied. This chapter is more subdued than the Show And Tell one but there is some humor.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**On Acts Of Attrition And Nicknames**_ (age 7)_

A month had passed since Kumiko began training with Kyou. If before, Jiro's followers were solely instigated by Jiro, now they had a common goal: to humiliate the one who had beaten them, Kumiko Yamaguchi. This task would be difficult given that there were rumors drifting around about Kumiko's fight against the boys.

A champion had arisen amidst the students of this elementary school and her name was Kumiko Yamaguchi. This being an extraordinary feat considering the warnings the parents had tried to implant in their children against the young Kuroda child. She had a lot of students that admired her from a distance but only one friend, Yoshiro Kashu.

After the incident a month ago, they started walking to school together and leaving school together. In between, they had classes together. Of course, it helped that he lived in the same district as the young heir, safely under the protection of the Kuroda clan. Thus, his parents never batted an eye about their budding friendship.

Now Jiro concluded that Yoshiro had been the one that had leaked the details of the fight between Kumiko and Jiro's cronies. He decided this would be payback and at the same time a show of what happens to anyone daring to be Kumiko Yamaguchi's friend.

He waited for him outside the school and got his group ready. As Yoshiro passed by the group he felt a little shove. Keeping his eyes on the floor, he attempted to continue walking. There was another small shove. He was going to ignore it but he found himself surrounded by 10 boys. He turned around as if counting them. Jiro approached the boy in the center and ordered him to stop hanging out with Kumiko. Yoshiro being stubborn and inspired by Kumiko standing up for herself, simply said "No". Jiro wasn't pleased and motioned to his posse to take care of him. As they started beating him, Ojou happened to pass by. She recognized the boy being beaten as Yoshiro.

"LeaVE Him ALonE!" Her voice barely controlled to a low growl. She approached the boys.

"You barely beat us when we were 4. You think you can beat us now?" The boys smirked confident that the odds were on their side. Ten boys against one girl seemed a little unfair considering that one of the boys had been held back twice so he was taller and stronger than the rest.

"Are you gonna make us?" They said challenging. What the boys didn't know was that Kumiko had been training with Kyou. Though she still couldn't beat Kyou that wasn't a reflection of what she was capable of doing to children around her size.

"Sounds like a plan" A smug look cast on her face as she cracked her fists. She beat the first guy up in 2 seconds flat. No one really knew what happened. One second he's running towards her, the next he's on the floor. The second guy came over and she beat him in 4 seconds. It seemed a punch to the face had been his undoing. Two boys came at her at the same time. She ran towards the one on the right and grabbed him by the arm as she swung around to slam him towards the other boy approaching.

The biggest of all, the one that had been held back twice, decided to end this. He directed a punch at her. She dodged and waited for an opportunity to punch him in the face. He staggered back but didn't fall. He lunged forward and tried to deliver a kick. Ojou dodged it again and tried punching him in the stomach. This time the boy doubled over. The rest of the boys were aghast. A small crowd started gathering. The crowd having been bullied by this group of boys before, started cheering for Kumiko. The crowd chanted one of the words used by Jiro's boys, it was at this point that a transmutation took place. The label had been redefined. And as the low rumbles of the chants were heard, Ojou felt as if she owned that label.

"Kumichou! Kumichou! Kumichou!" The chants grew louder as the bigger bully who had just been punched straightened himself with difficulty. He wasn't gonna back down, not in front of this _girl_. He charged again. Again, she dodged his punch. A war cry was heard coming from the young Kuroda heir **"Orryyaaa!!" **This time she kicked his balls. He grunted in pain and then he slumped down with a loud thud. The chants of the crowd continued. "Kumichou! Kumichou!"

"WhO's nEXt?" She said through gritted teeth pointing at each one of them. Surprised that she had taken down the toughest of the boys, Jiro's followers backed away scared.

Jiro knew when to accept defeat and this was it. The whole school had seen it. If he continued trying to best her right now, he would look pathetic. So, he stepped forward and apologized. He motioned the rest to apologize as well.

"We're sorry." One by one mumbled. The crowd stopped chanting.

"You know, after all the trouble you caused, there is only one way you can show you're sorry" Ojou folded her arms across her chest. The boys looked at her hesitantly. A smirk took hold of her face.

The crowd started chanting again. "Kumichou! Kumichou! Kumichou!"

-o-

The men in the Kuroda household had learned to brace themselves everytime the phone rang. It usually ended up with a trip to the principal's office. For awhile there, it seemed that Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa had Kuroda's Kumichou on speed dial. Ojou just had a knack for getting herself into more trouble than was normally conceivable.

It was amazing that Ojou's academic career had not been interrupted even after all the close calls. Kuroda was not only a good Kumichou but also a good diplomat. He had to be to keep peace among his allies. And, it was this characteristic that was predominantly used in his talks with Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa. Keeping Ojou in school had become a full time job and his diplomatic skills had been stretched to its limits.

_Ring Ring_ The Kuroda men instinctively looked for their Ojou. Noticing it was school hours, they looked at each other alarmed.

_Ring Ring_ Nobody moved hoping that it would stop ringing.

_Ring Ring_

The Kuroda Boss slowly approached the phone and raised the receiver to his ear. The Kuroda men having stopped what they were doing inched their way towards their Boss to listen in on the conversation that was about to unfold.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this Mr. Kuroda?" He recognized the voice of Ojou's teacher, Ms Ishikawa.

"Yes. What did our Ojou do _now_?" He sighed. It seemed it had become his standard response to Ms. Ishikawa and Principal Takeda.

"She... got into a fight." Ms. Ishikawa said somberly. This was lost on the Kuroda Kumichou who at the mention of a fight all he could think of was the outcome.

"Who won?"

Kuroda didn't see Ms. Ishikawa frown as she said, "Kumiko-chan did. Hands down." The Kuroda Boss grinned then remembered that he was talking to Ms. Ishikawa. This prompted him to feign concern. "Anyone hurt?"

"Well... Kumiko-chan is fine... but the boys..." The Kuroda Boss chuckled at the mention of boys. He thought they probably deserved it and it was good to know that Ojou could take care of herself.

"It's really not a laughing matter, Mr. Kuroda" She tried sounding indignant though it ended up sounding more guarded.

"Let me ask you something first, were weapons involved?" Muffled voices were heard in the background as the men tried to determine who was involved with weapons and if their Ojou was fine. The muffled voices stopped when a loud 'ssshhhhhh' was heard from the Kuroda Boss.

"No, no weapons but-"

Ms. Ishikawa was interrupted by the Kuroda Boss. "Then, it is funny."

His men were confused by the one-sided conversation they had heard. By now, his underlings had surrounded him to the point that the Kuroda Kumichou almost fell over by their awkward proximity. Curiosity had prompted them to crane their neck sideways, towards the phone receiver, in an attempt to hear the other side of the conversation. A silent command for space summoned with a single glare made his men take a couple of steps back. The Boss cleared his throat. In order to clear his underlings' confusion as well as Ms. Ishikawa's, the Kuroda Boss added, "You're telling me that Ojou got into hand to hand combat with a group of boys and she won. Sounds to me like she'd have been in trouble if she didn't defend herself." The mutterings on the other side of the line now sounding like cheering and hooting as Ms. Ishikawa was mentally trying to find a way of telling him that he needed to come to the principal's office. Her nervous tic appearing again.

"Well, we need you to see the... _damage_."

"Righteo" The Boss said in a good mood. And, not waiting for a response, he hanged up the phone. Ms. Ishikawa was left dumbfounded on the other end of the line. She covered the offending eye twitch.

-o-

_...2 hours later in the Principal's office..._

"I'm glad you came, Mr Kuroda" Principal Takeda said. Ryuuichirou gave a slight nod to both Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa.

"What's the damage?" The Kuroda Kumichou waved his hand absentmindedly as if he was wasting his time. Wakamatsu and Kyoutarou flanked the Boss with arms folded across their chests.

"Kumiko broke the little pinky of 10 students" Wakamatsu and Kyou gaped. Ryuuichirou looked at Kumiko in disbelief.

"Huh?" Her grandfather was sure he misheard. _'She might get expelled for sure this time.'_ Ryuuichirou thought as he shook his head. He was sure she'd just made them unconscious for a few minutes. He thought he'd see some bloody noses, fat lips, swollen eyes... He hadn't expected broken appendages.

"It was only to settle the score." Kumiko said as-a-matter-of-fact. Kyou looked puzzled. Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa weren't sure what she was trying to say. Wakamatsu nodded thoughtfully which earned him a slap on the back of the head by the Kuroda Kumichou.

"By breaking their fingers?!" The Kumichou asked trying to find some way to salvage Ojou's academic career while Wakamatsu rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I couldn't find a knife to slice and dice their pinkies." Kumiko said shrugging. Principal Takeda and Ms. Ishikawa mouthed to each other in unison 'slice and dice'.

"Ah, that makes sense." said Kyou while Wakamatsu nodded approvingly mumbling a "yes". The Kuroda Kumichou slapped both of his underlings on the back of the head.

"Kumiko-chan, you can't go around threatening people." Ms. Ishikawa tried to be sensible.

"I wasn't threatening! I only asked them for an act of attrition." Kumiko said confounded.

"Still, I'm afraid I might have to suspend you." said Principal Takeda.

"Hey, that ain't even fair" Wakamatsu protested.

"An act of attrition is an act of attrition." Kyou-san added.

The Kuroda Kumichou raised his right hand and the two Kuroda men stopped their outcries. The Boss folded his arms across his chest and with his eyes fixed on Principal Takeda, he took a step forward.

"You can't really suspend her without hearing the whole story" The Boss' voice was dangerously threatening.

"W-what is there to listen? S-she _broke_ their f-fingers, for heaven's sake!" Principal Takeda's eyes had widened.

"You heard her! She was asking for an act of attrition. Something must have happened." The Boss looked at his granddaughter questioningly. "Ojou?"

"They were beating up Yoshiro." The Kuroda Kumichou remembered the boy. It was the first and only friend Ojou seemed to have in all the time she'd been at the house.

"Really? Nobody said anything." Suddenly Principal Takeda saw an out of this sticky situation. He certainly didn't want to be on the Kuroda's bad side but he couldn't play favorites. "I will have to talk to their parents." In light of this new information, there might be a chance the boys' parents would not sue the school. Also, there might be a chance that they won't clamor for Kumiko-chan to be expelled or suspended though that did not guarantee the grandfather would not be sued. But, considering who the grandfather was, chances were high that the parents of the children would be too scared to sue him.

"Then, what happened?" Wakamatsu asked.

"So, I told them to stop but they didn't."

"Aaaaand...?" The Kuroda Kumichou insisted.

"And I used Kyou-san's technique to stop your opponents move. I'm still not good at the pit of the stomach but the face and the balls worked really well." Ojou said pointing at her face and crotch with a really proud grin.

"W-what?" Principal Takeda's eyes widened. Ms. Ishikawa slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand as she tried to stifle a mixture of laughter and frustration.

"Atta girl!" Wakamatsu said beaming with pride.

"That's our Ojou!" The Kuroda Boss said remembering fondly the first fight he won. Kyou's gaze landed gently on Ojou as if he had just heard his own daughter saying her very first word. And, if she had, it would have definitely been _'Da Da'_.

"Yeah the pit of the stomach is hard to find." Kyou said thoughtfully. "But when you find it..." Kyou made a fist and hit an imaginary opponent "they have no where else to go but down." He gave a sinister grin.

"Uh-huh. That's right!" Wakamatsu agreed looking at the young Kuroda heir. The young heir nodded in acknowledgement of such sage words. The Kuroda Boss simply ruffled her hair.

"B-b-but you can't just go around asking for people's pinkies like that." Principal Takeda said knowing it was up to him to bring some sanity to this situation.

"Well, she really didn't ask... she demanded..." This earned Wakamatsu a slap on the back of the head by none other than Kyou.

The grandfather knew where Principal Takeda was going with that argument. They had to keep Ojou in school. "Ojou, do you promise not to go around taking people's pinkies?" And, if they hadn't been yakuza, Ms. Ishikawa would have laughed at the absurdity of the question. Principal Takeda had lost all sense of humor at this point.

"B-but you do it all the time" Kumiko said confused. Her grandfather rubbed his forehead at that. It hardly seemed fair to punish her for mimicking them. If anyone asked him, he didn't see what the big deal was. Their fingers were only broken and the kids had acted cowardly by ganging up on one lone boy. As far as he was concern, they should be giving Ojou a medal. But, before he could say anything, Wakamatsu interrupted.

"The Boss does it to people that have done things that are unacceptable." Wakamatsu said thinking the matter closed.

"They were beating up Yoshiro. That's unacceptable." Ojou's determined eyes boring into Wakamatsu.

_"She's gotta point there."_ Kyou muttered. He flinched when he saw the look on the Boss' face.

"You're too young for that" Yeah, it was a lame excuse but Kuroda didn't know what else to say other than the cliche 'You can't do it because I said so'. And the mission at hand was to keep Ojou in school at all cost.

"When will I be able to?" The grandfather considered the question. _'Does she really want to be able to slice people's fingers?'_ He shook his head forcing the thought away. She most probably didn't know what she was asking. He didn't know how to respond. He crouched down and held his granddaughter's shoulders.

"I will let you know. Until then, no slicing or breaking anyone's fingers, OK?" The girl nodded. The grandfather straightened up and sighed. Keeping Ojou in school was proving more troublesome than he'd expected. He directed his attention to Principal Takeda. "Considering the boys were actually beating on another student, and our Ojou was simply trying to defend him, I think paying their medical expenses should be enough to ensure that Ojou won't be suspended or expelled?" It was a challenge disguised as a statement, badly disguised as a question. The Kuroda Kumichou folded his arms across his chest. With his eyes fixed on the principal, he waited for Takeda's response, if any.

Principal Takeda thought for awhile. He was definitely scared. Wakamatsu and Kyou were sending him threatening looks. "W-well... since she p-promised not to d-do it again..." The three yakuza men smiled.

"Then, that's settled" The Boss gave a slight nod and headed towards the door without waiting to be dismissed. The two kumi followed their Boss closely. Behind them, the young heir strutted trying to mirror the gait of the men ahead. A green lollipop, which was given to her by Ms. Asaoka, peered out of her pocket.

Out in the hallway, the most curious thing happened. Every once in awhile, one of the students would greet the Boss.

"Kumichou!" said one after another though not really looking at him. It was accompanied by a slight bow. Wakamatsu and Kyou looked at each other then at the Boss. Ryuuichirou was startled but would give a slight nod himself. Intrigued with this curious event, they slowed their gait. Ojou, not having payed attention to her grandfather's creeping gait, overtook them. It was then that they noticed that the children were not really greeting the Boss but their Ojou.

"Kumichou!" A few other students greeted the young Kuroda heir as they gave a small bow. Ojou just gave a slight nod of acknowledgement as she continued walking as if she owned the place. Her little arms folded across her chest. The three men looked at each other bewildered.

_"Damn! It's like the whole school is her clan."_ Wakamatsu muttered wide eyed. Kyou just nodded approvingly. His eyes were as wide as Wakamatsu's.

_"She'll make a great Boss one day... even if she's a girl."_ Ryuuichirou muttered. His chest swelling with pride.

* * *

_**A/N**_: Some people said the prologue was too dark so they didn't go beyond it. My first draft for the prologue was definitely dark but I never posted that. I think I fixed it enough so that it is just sad. The rest of the story is funny in a twisted sort of way but there is a story behind all the fun. For those of you who are still reading, I thank you for giving this story a chance. Thanks also to those who review. I am glad you enjoy it. I think, if you are talking about Kumiko's childhood, then you have to deal with her mourning period as little or as much as necessary. Of course, if this story was a oneshot, I probably would not deal with the grieving period. 

**_A/N2_**: All the names of my OC's come from "Ninja Warriors". Takeda, Ishikawa, Jiro, Akira, Dai, Toru, Asaoka, Yoshiro, Kashu. This is the end of age 7. Next chapter we will deal with age 8.


	6. Curiosity

_**A/N**_: I have a question for the few that bother to read author's notes. Are you allowed to 'say' the "F" word (and a few others) in a T rating or should I change the rating to M just because of the word(s)? This is just for future chapters I have in mind for age10. Also, I have a couple of questions in my profile. Could someone take a look and PM me if they know the answer? Thanks in advance. Lastly, there is a flashback in this chapter, but I think it is evident where it is. Now, on with age 8.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Curiosity **_(age 8) _

Ojou was 8 years old now and in the third grade. Second grade hadn't been that bad considering the circumstances. She still misses her parents, but time has numbed the pain into something more manageable letting her slip into old habits and new routines.

It used to be that she couldn't even watch a movie with a car crash. To hide this aversion, she used to go to the kitchen pretending she was thirsty when such scenes would appear. Of course that meant she went to the kitchen often since most movies kumis preferred inevitably contained a car crash or two. At least now she manages to stay in the room while the scene plays, but her expression is dazed. Her body remains still. Her vacant eyes remain fixed on the screen until the scene passes, and she is somehow brought back from her seeming out of body experience. Her grandfather noticed this without a word. He reasoned it was better than her constant trips to the kitchen, but he still kept a watchful eye on her.

When the anniversary of her parents' death approached, her grandfather had urged her to visit their graves. She really didn't see the point to that. She still complied. She figured she wasn't the only one who lost someone. Her grandfather lost his daughter. Though he didn't say it, everytime he looked at her, he looked sad. This was the reason why she humored him.

She still followed Kyou around. The one time she had accidentally called him 'Dad' had been purposely ignored by both Ojou and Kyou. Though afterwards Kyou would look at her tenderly, or as tenderly as a kumi can get with a scar crossing vertically from the top of his brow to the top of his cheekbone.

Currently, Ojou was doing her homework. Amazingly enough Ms. Ishikawa was still her teacher. Ojou was happy about this; though it didn't occur to her that this was something out of the ordinary. It also didn't occur to her that it was odd that Principal Takeda was still the principal after all the rumors pointed to Principal Takeda seeking early retirement.

She'd been in third grade for one month before she was summoned by Principal Takeda. This had been the longest she'd been away from the principal's office, and she was very proud of herself. She wasn't the only one. The Kuroda men had felt an eerie sense of security as they silently celebrated this accomplishment. However, good things must come to an end, or so they say.

She didn't even remember the reason for being sent to the principal's office. Of course, it had not been her only visit this quarter. Ms. Asaoka's habit of giving her a piece of candy every time she came out of Principal Takeda's office had her associating school with sugary treats. Of course, this meant that this Pavlovian conditioning had been deeply ingrained. It was this conditioning that had her thinking about candy as soon as she'd finished with her homework.

She asked Kyou-san for permission to go to the store to get her sugary treats, seeing as her grandfather was doing _business_. He'd happily consented. As soon as he said yes, Ojou extended her little hand asking for money.

"What?"

"I need money to buy candy. They're not gonna give it to me for free, you know?" Kyou pondered this statement. In reality, she could probably get the candy for free. After all, she was the Kuroda heir.

The funny thing was that even if she hadn't been, everyone in the village watched out for her as more than just the Ojou. The thing that made her endearing and vulnerable at the same time was the fact that she'd lost her parents at such an early age and there was no female role model for her to follow. Let's face it, growing up in the yakuza surrounded by just men was not going to be the easiest thing for the young girl. Thus, the whole village _adopted _her as their own. Her accomplishments -- good, bad, and in-between -- were known by all. In her own microcosm, she was _king_.

Now, Kyou considered explaining this to Ojou, but he decided against it. He didn't want to get Ojou started with her whys and whats. It was bad enough that the last time he was faced with it he had broken down. He, a kumi, had been done in by the persistent questioning of an 8 year old child. It was shameful, to say the least.

_Ojou, Kyou and Toru were walking leisurely towards the market to get some groceries. A voluptuous woman wearing a mini skirt with a flirty ruffled flair walked past them. Her hips swayed slowly from side to side as if to their own beat. _Boom Baa Daa Boom Baa Daa Boom Baa Daa Boom _The slow cadence making her ruffled mini skirt sway from side to side in hypnotic seduction. _Boom Baa Daa Boom

"Man, look at that ass!"_ Kyou couldn't stop himself from muttering to Toru. Fortunately, Ojou did not manage to hear what Kyou had said. Unfortunately, she knew he said something._

_"What?" Ojou asked innocently._

_"Huh?" Kyou looked like he had been caught with his hands in the cookie jar._

_"Whacha say?" Ojou asked again._

_Kyou had to think fast but for all the thinking he did all that came out was, "Er... um..." Ojou waited until he finally said something coherent. "Look at that bass!" Kyou looked pleadingly at Toru to confirm his statement. Toru gave a nod with a sidelong glance. _

_"What bass?" Ojou looked from side to side._

_"That one." Thankfully they were passing by Uomasa-san's business. The fish vendor had witnessed the incident and smiled inwardly._

_"I don't see any bass." Ojou kept looking. Toru looked up to the sky as if waiting for divine intervention. The fish vendor, seeing Kyou's predicament, had pity on the man and pointed to where the bass was. "Wow, Kyou-san! You must have good eyes. I didn't even see 'em from that far." Kyou nodded embarrassed hoping to forget the incident, or more to the point, hoping Ojou would forget the incident. _

_Ojou climbed on top of a wooden box to examine the bass. "Hey! Which one did you like?" Kyou and Toru looked at each other not understanding what she was referring to. Ojou pointed to the bass before her. Kyou just pointed at a random one hoping the questions would stop. "So, that's a good bass." Ojou put her little fists on her waist and exclaimed, "Look at that bass!" not really seeing what was so special about this particular one but if Kyou liked it then it must be good bass. Uomasa-san smirked at the young child's innocence. _

_Kyou picked up Ojou from atop the wooden box and muttered _"Let's stop looking at the bass. We've gotta go get some groceries."

_Now, Ojou was still thinking about the bass to Kyou's chagrin and Toru's amusement. "So, how do you like your bass?" Ojou asked skipping. Yes, skipping._

_"Yeah, Kyou. How do you like your bass?" Toru said with a lopsided grin. Kyou scowled at Toru and shrugged. _

_"Do you like baked bass?" Ojou wanted an answer._

_"Yep, they are good." Toru kept grinning suggestively._

_"What about fried bass?" Ojou continued towards the market._

_"Uh-huh" Toru made suggestive hand gestures signaling a woman's luscious... _bass_. Kyou rolled his eyes a bit unnerved. They'd arrived at the market and Ojou was still asking about bass._

_"Oooh, there's casserole?!" Ojou's over-enthusiasm about bass was grating on Kyou's nerves. Toru's taunting was not helping the situation._

_"Casserole is good." A hint of frustration was barely detectable. He wondered if this day would ever end._

_"And, there's grilled!" Ojou beamed. Kyou nodded as he fidgeted. Toru by this time was trying not to laugh. "Ah, but steamed is pretty good."_

_Kyou couldn't bear it any longer. He crouched down and turned the young heir to face him. With barely controlled frustration he said, "Ojou, I didn't say 'Look at that bass'. I said, 'Look at that ass'. OJOU, 'LOOK. AT. THAT. ASS'." _

_He had raised his voice and now the whole market was looking at him while Toru went into a coughing fit badly disguising his laughter. Ojou's eyes widened at the confession and simply muttered an 'oh' before getting a packet of ramen and putting it in the shopping cart. Several of the patrons muttered amongst themselves, giving Kyou shifty looks._

_Once the commotion died down, Kyou was relieved, if slightly mortified. He considered the matter closed. That was until they reached the cash register and Ojou took this opportunity to ask, "Whose ass were you looking at?", a little bit too loud._

"Earth to Kyou-san?" She waved her hands in front of Kyou's face. "Earth to Kyou-san?"

"Huh?"

"Could I have some money to buy candy?" She looked slightly annoyed.

"Uh... O.K." Kyoutarou took out his wallet to give her a few dollars.

Ojou noticed a ring protruding from the wallet and asked "What's that?" Kyou-san hadn't noticed what Ojou was pointing at. He looked around thinking it was a stain or a bug or something of the sort.

"What?"

"That" She traced her little fingers on the ring protruding from his wallet. Instinctively, Kyou-san jerked the wallet away from little Ojou. And, choosing to ignore Ojou's question he decided to change the subject.

"Will $10 be enough?" Ah... subtle bribery... is always distracting and it usually works. Of course, 10 dollars for an 8 year old is not that subtle but the important point here is _distraction_.

Ojou frowned at not receiving an answer but extended her hand nonetheless to receive said amount. Pleased with his shirking maneuver he smiled. He ruffled her hair and proceeded to take a 10 dollar bill from his wallet. He bent down to give it to her. Unfortunately, the cause of the ring protrusion fell from the wallet without him noticing. Ojou, however, noticed it. Picking it up she looked curiously at the perfectly square purple wrapping with its dull sheen. She turned it over to one side then again to the other trying to make sense of what she was looking at. Kyou-san proceeded to put his wallet in his pant's pocket only to be faintly aware of something missing. Not sure of what he was looking for, he glanced down only to see the perplexed look of one 8 year old Ojou about to rip open the object that had fallen from his wallet. Kyou-san's eyes widened in horror and quickly tried to recover said object. However, Ojou just backed away from him. Her curiousity was piqued again.

"What is this?" Ojou looked at the perfectly square purple wrapping and suddenly had the urge to squeeze. The object inside the wrapping felt as if it had slipped from her fingers, squirted out like a wet bar of soap. The square wrapping keeping it confined amidst all the squirting.

"Um... nothing. Just give it back, Ojou" Kyou-san looked at Ojou pleadingly.

"It feels like a toy" She grinned excitedly as she kept squeezing.

Had Kyou-san been talking to one of the men he would have made a comment about how much he would play with that toy on his date tonight. However, seeing as it was Ojou he simply said "It's not a toy" and left it at that.

"I wanna know what it is!" Ojou whined.

"It's nothing" Kyou-san insisted "Now, give it back." Kyou was beginning to lose his patience.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll just ask grandpa when he gets home" A look of terror spread over Kyou-san's countenance. He knew this was gonna turn into one of Ojou's interrogation and he needed to stop it. He wasn't ready to talk to Ojou about the birds and the bees. He reasoned that if he could grab the object before he said too much then it would be OK.

"No, no, no, Ojou! Ojou!" Kyou-san tried to approach the girl slowly without much success. "You see... that isss... something men use for protection"

"It's awfully small. Doesn't look like it can protect much." Ojou looked at the square object suspiciously.

"Oh ho ho ho believe me Ojou, it protects." A memory drifted by of the one time he didn't use protection. A girl saying she was _late _had him wringing out his hands scared shitless. He remembered the 3 minutes of hell he endured waiting for that stick to not turn blue. He shuddered at the thought. "It protects alright." He said more to himself.

"Why does it only protect men?" Ojou felt slightly offended. After all, she reasoned, women need protection too.

"Oh, it protects women too"

"But you just said that it was something men used for protection." Ojou pointed at Kyou-san accussingly. Kyou-san, however, took this opportunity to try to grab the extended little hand pointing at him. But, she had learned well from him to never let your guard down, especially when you wanted answers. Kyou-san sighed.

"Yes, it is something that men use to protect themselves and the woman they are with."

"Like a shield?"

"...like a shield. Now be a good Ojou and give me my... uh... _shield,_ OK?" He hoped that was it.

"How come they don't sell something for the woman to protect herself?" She still felt slighted at having to depend on the man for protection. The way she saw it, after Kyou's lessons, she could do a pretty good job in kicking someone's ass adding protection to that would make her almost invincible.

"There are things for women to protect themselves, and they should use it if they want to. However, a man should take their share of the responsibility for protection. Besides, _that _is better protection in the long run." He said pointing at the object in Ojou's hand. Running through his mind was Toru's confession at having an STD.

Ojou kept inspecting the square wrapping. She read the letters written on it. "Why does it say _Very Sensitive_? How can a shield be sensitive?"

"Well... it means that you um... can feel... _stuff_ but you are still protected." Ojou seeing that he was slowly backing her into a corner, swiftly ran passed him.

When she was a safe distance away, she turned her head and said "I'm gonna get some candy. Be back soon."

Kyou-san started running after her. The Boss arrived just when he was about to reach the door. Thinking that Kyou-san was merely playing with Ojou, he said "You can continue your game later. I need you to do something."

"But, but... she... the _shield_... my l-last o-one!" Kyou looked like he was writhing in pain.

"Snap out of it. Ojou knows business comes first" said the Boss not exactly knowing what Kyou was talking about.

Kyou's shoulders slumped. Resigned, he walked towards the Boss mumbling something about shields, a date, cancelling, and needing to buy more.

-o-

Ojou had gotten away from Kyou-san and after buying her candy she started walking aimlessly. Her feet led her to her usual place along the riverbed. Her thinking spot as she liked to think of it. After moving with her grandfather right after her parents died, this place was the only place where she could find solace without worrying anyone in the household. She sat on the ground with her back against a tree. Her little hand extended outwards as she kept studying this _shield_. She thought about opening it but Kyou-san said that men use it. She figured she'd need to find a guy so that she could see how it works.

Not far away, Yoshiro had just come out to play. Seeing Kumiko by the tree, he walked towards her. "Whatcha doing?"

"Hey, Yoshiro." She brightened up. After all, Yoshiro was a guy. He should be able to get the _shield _to work. "Here." She shoved the square plastic wrapped object towards him. He looked at the dull purple sheened paper a bit puzzled.

"What is it?" He tilted his head.

"It's a shield" said Ojou beaming.

"Awfully small for a shield"

"That's what I said, but Kyou-san swears it's for protection."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because the shield protects the man using it and the woman he is with. Well?!... you're a man. Aren't you?"

Yoshiro looked at the small package incredulous. He opened it to reveal a rubbery ring of sorts. They wrinkled their noses as he declared, "It smells."

"Maybe that's part of the protection"

"Like skunk stink?" He grimaced looking at her. She shrugged.

Once they got over the smell, he said "Do you think it's working right now?" At that, they looked around to see if they could sense the invisible _shield_. Tentative hands tried touching it like a mime in a box. After having satisfied herself there was no _shield_, she shook her head from side to side.

"How do you think it works?"

"Dunno" She grabbed the ring by the protruding bit and said "Maybe it's like Wonder Woman's bracelets! You grab it by this tip here and then you lunge, thrusting the shield towards the bullets to deflect them." Thus, she proceeded to demonstrate with a series of poses and a few "Hiya, hiya, hiya" here and there.

"Yeah, I always thought Wonder Woman was lame. I mean, she has this awesome metal that deflets bullets and instead of putting a metal plate on her chest and back or even on that headband, she puts it on her wrists. What the heck! To top it off, she decides it's good to fight crime practically naked!"

Now Kumiko, being as big a fan of Wonder Woman as she was, grabbed Yoshiro by the collar with the hand that was still holding the... um... _shield_ and was about to punch him with the other hand when a quick thinking Yoshiro grabbed the _shield_ and tried to use it to deflect Kumiko's punch. Unfortunately, it didn't work. And, like a chain reaction, Yoshiro ended up being punched on the hand holding the _shield_ whose momentum prompted it to punch him on the right eye. "Ow! This shield sucks!"

Realizing what just happened, Ojou remembered something Kyou-san said. "Well, this shield is very sensitive. It helps you feel stuff, but it still protects you."

"Nope. I can feel it _and_ it hurts. How is that still protecting me?" Yoshiro was mad. He looked at the _defective shield_ and shook it sure that it would jump start its protective abilities. However, he noticed that the _shield _had unrolled a bit. So, Yoshiro unrolled the _shield _to its full extent. "It looks like a b-balloon" He said disappointed.

"Damn it, Yoshiro! Look what you did! You broke it! Now, we'll never find out how it works."

Yoshiro felt a little guilty, and not knowing if it was true or not he said "No, no, Kumiko-chan. Look! It still works." He deflected one, two imaginary bullets with the limp shield which by the way he was holding it looked more like a flaccid dagger flapping with each lunge and thrust he took. _(flap)_ . . . . . . . _(flap)_ . . . . "See?" . . . . . _(flap)_

Kumiko furrowed her brow and pouted. "Let me see" And without warning him, she started throwing pebbles at him which he tried deflecting with only a 60 percent success rate. _(flap)_ . . . "Ow!" . . . . _(flap)_ . . . . _(flap)_ . . . . "Ow!"

"Maybe you don't know how to use it." Kumiko said disappointed. He looked at the _shield_ trying to uncover the trick to it, but it was getting dark and his mother might come looking for him.

"I'll just go home and practice. If I figure out how it works, I'll show you." A disgruntled Kumiko managed to assent as she decided to head home herself. At least, she had hit the jackpot by scoring 10 bucks from Kyou for candy. Her teeth will rot for sure today. She waved Yoshiro goodbye.

-o-

Yoshiro headed home with the unrolled _shield_ in his hand flapping about at his every movement. Some people did a double take when he passed, others were a little creeped out and tried to keep as much distance away from him as possible and yet others kept looking around sure that there must be a camera crew filming people's reactions because... it just HAD to be a joke. Yoshiro didn't notice. Every once in awhile he would try lunging and deflecting imaginary bullets. He was sure that it was in the force of the thrust or the flick of the wrist were the trick lied. And it was like this that his mother found him in the living room. Her 1st reaction was as expected.

"YOSHIRO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YA DOIN' WITH THAT THING?" Ms Kashu couldn't see how her son had even dared touch such thing. "How many times do I have to tell you never to touch stuff you find on the streets? Throw that thing away, right now!"

"I didn't find it on the streets. Kumiko gave it to me. I'm trying to figure out how to use it 'cause only men can use it."

"WHAT?" Yoshiro's mother was screaming again. She was about to have a conniption when she thought _'OK, they are just children so it might not be what I'm thinking.'_ This prompted her to try a different approach. "Is that a used... a used... What is that?"

"It's a shield, and it's brand new." He said extending the little arm that was holding the unrolled flaccid _shield_. His mother sighed loudly thankful that Yoshiro wasn't touching someone's... _release_. "It's for protection; though I don't know yet how it works." He stepped forward to show his mother, _shield _firmly clutched in his hand. However, with each step he took, his mother would take a step back horrified not wanting the... um... _shield_ touching her. It was irrational, she knew it. The _shield _was new, so there was really no reason to feel disgusted. Nevertheless, mental association was always hard to overlook even in the face of logic. Mustering enough courage she snatched the _shield _with her index and thumb nail and told him to go to the bathroom and scrub from head to toe. As he left for the bathroom, she threw the _shield _in the garbage and yelled to him

**"Don't put your hands in your mouth until you're ALL clean!"**

With that, she washed her hands muttering about shields, wanting to hurl and having a talk with Kumiko's grandfather.

* * *

_**A/N**_: I know I should probably change it to Japanese currency but I am too lazy to check. Besides you'd have to take into consideration how much candy costs there plus how much is enough to 'bribe' an 8 years old child... It just seemed too troublesome, to borrow Shikamaru's signature statement. Yes, I watch too much Naruto. 


	7. Hide And Seek

_**A/N**_: I want to thank again all that have reviewed. I hope you can sort of see how she is growing up a bit. I have to say that only a schematic of this story is in my head, and things are subject to change. I say this because of a question by FS.Rain. He/she asked if Yoshiro will be just a friend. I had originally intended it that way, and this is what I had PM'ed him/her but it made me think. I may change it to make it one-sided or a mutual attraction that never gets to develop just to make it interesting in case I do the sequel I sort of have in mind, which will be a Shinkumi, of course. I do not know at this moment.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Hide And Seek **_(age 8)_

Hide and Seek tests stealth in hiding, stealth in seeking and quick responses. That is, if you play the variation where an object is chosen as "Home". The seeker or "it" counts up to a specified number on "Home", and "it" then proceeds to look for the hiders. The hiders, having chosen their respective hiding places can move around as long as they remain undetected by "it". However, once detected, the objective is to not get tagged before you get "Home". If you are successful then you are "Home Free"; otherwise, you become "it".

You would think that this game of stealth would be quite appropriate for a child in the yakuza. It does have the advantage of teaching the child to carefully choose hiding places and to move around undetected in the event of a threat whether it be by kidnapping attempts, territory takeovers, revenge seeking kumis, etc. Meanwhile, it is these dangers that make the game a disadvantage for the people trying to protect the yakuza child.

"O.K. This lamp here is gonna be _Home_. Count to 50, and I'll go hide." Yoshiro nodded at Kumiko.

"Uh huh, but we agreed you're only hiding inside the house, right?" Yoshiro recapped the rules of this particular Hide and Seek game. Kumiko nodded. He turned around. Just as he was about to start counting, he stopped himself and turned to face her. "You're sure your family won't get upset about me looking around the house?" He fidgeted, casting nervous glances around. "I mean, is there a room I'm not allowed to search? 'Cause if there is, you're not allowed to hide in there." There was something about the men in Kumiko's household that made him nervous, but being eight, he wasn't sure what it was.

"You worry too much." She waved off his concern. "Of course they won't mind." Somehow, Yoshiro was still not convinced, and to allay his concern, she added "Just to be on the safe side, don't go into grandpa's study. Everything else is fair game." She plastered a smile on her face. Yoshiro nodded satisfied and turned around again.

"**one**"

_'Where should I hide? Where should I hide?'_ Kumiko looked around the kitchen. Kyou-san was busy making dinner. _"two"_ He gave Ojou a bored look and then went back to cutting vegetables. She looked under the sink. _"three"_ Too many things in there for her to be able to squeeze in. _"four"_ Ojou scrambled out of the kitchen and went back to the living room where Yoshiro was still counting.

"**five**"

It would be stupid to hide behind the sofa or TV. She thought about hiding in the yard. _'Damn it!' _Technically that would be outside so she couldn't do that.

"**six**"

She ran to the training room. She scanned the area. _"seven"_ There was padding on the floor, a punching bag, some weights, a bench, mirrors, a couple of katanas. No, there was no place to hide here.She ran to the bathroom. _"eight"_

Now the problem with this bathroom was that the lock was broken. Moreover, this was the reason why, when she opened the bathroom door, she was faced with a clearly startled Wakamatsu covered from the waist down by a long towel. _"nine"_ Now, Ojou was used to seeing scarred men whether they were half-naked or fully clothed, but the medium-sized man boobs peeking through a light tuft of hair made Wakamatsu look as if he was attempting a burlesque show. _"ten"_ Wakamatsu, recovering from the unexpected interruption and after having checked that _nothing _was showing, said "Ojou, you need to knock before you enter the bathroom. Remember we haven't fixed the lock yet." He moved his arm showing her the door. _"eleven"_ This movement only made his man boobs bounce and the waves rippled through his chest. Ojou, being eight, was fascinated by this rippling movement and stared without shame. The adipose tissue moved like a hula girl's hands amidst a story through dance. _"twelve"_ She pondered how someone who had muscles could still have man boobs which made her reach to the only logical conclusion. _"thirteen" _

Her mouth opened up and without ill-intention, she said, "You should probably do more upper body exercises." _"fourteen"_ She pointed at his generous man boobs. With that, she spun around and marched off in search of another hiding place, leaving Wakamatsu feeling as injured as a hit-and-run victim. _"fifteen"_ Wakamatsu, tongue-tied and self-conscious, could only hold his chest protectively. _"sixteen"_

She ran to the study, just as she remembered she had told Yoshiro not to go in there. _'Darn I'm sure there are a few good places in there.' "seventeen" _She was about to barge into the conference room searching for a good hiding place, but she heard noises coming from inside the room. _"eighteen" _She figured her grandfather had a meeting with some of the other clans, and she was sure they did not want to be interrupted. Should she tell Yoshiro not to go into the conference room? She decided against it. _"nineteen"_ She was sure he would hear the murmur of people talking in the room, thereby stopping him from barging in. _'He'll be fine'_, she convinced herself. She ran back into the living room.

"**twenty**"

She decided hiding upstairs was her only alternative right now. Surely one of the two bathrooms or one of the four bedrooms upstairs would provide a suitable hiding place. Besides, no one said anything against hiding upstairs.

"**twenty-one**"

She tried to walk softly so that he could not hear her going upstairs.

"**twenty-two**"

She had finally reached the top of the stairs when she nixed the idea of hiding in bathrooms. After all, bathrooms are the second most popular hiding place. It wouldn't do to hide there. She also nixed the idea of hiding in her own room. _"twenty-three"_ She reasoned it would be too obvious for her to hide there. This left her grandfather's room, Kyou-san's room, and the guest room as possible hiding places. Hence, seeing as Kyou-san's room was closest, she inspected that one first. _"twenty-four"_

There was a desk facing the room's only window. She could hide behind the desk, though then you could see her feet. _"twenty-five"_ She saw the cabinet were Kyou-san kept his guns which was diligently locked after the notorious Show and Tell on handgun maintenance. _"twenty-six"_ She ignored it only to let her eyes rest under the bed, and as children had done throughout the history of mankind or at least since the invention of the bed, she instinctively slid under it. _"twenty-seven"_ The problem with this hiding place was that it was crowded with magazines. She picked one up. Only a faint light, coming from the window, reached under the bed. She strained her eyes. _"twenty-eight"_ She tried to make out what was in the magazine. She was able to discern a picture in the front page. There were nude women in very strange poses. _"twenty-nine"_ She wondered what Kyou-san was doing with these magazines. She reasoned these women had to be poor since they had no clothes on. _"thirty" _Moreover, Kyou-san was most probably sending money to these impoverished women, and that is why it gave a little outline about their likes and dislikes. _'Kyou-san really has a good heart.'_ She thought smiling. _"thirty-one" _She put the magazine back and saw a container of vaseline which was almost empty and a family value pack of paper towels underneath the bed. "Kyou-san must have really really... really dry skin." She pondered aloud. _"thirty-two" _She had to get out from under the bed. It was definitely too crowded. Besides, it was _the_ most popular hiding place, the first place people looked. _"thirty-three"_ She went into Kyou-san's closet. She realized closets are the third most popular hiding place. It would be stupid to try to hide there, but she was running out of ideas. _"thirty-four" _

As soon as she entered the closet, she made the most important discovery she'd make in her young years, something that will keep her out of this closet for years to come: Kyou-san's closet reeked! _"thirty-five" _She started looking for the source of the offensive odor. Rummaging through boxes, she found the culprit to be a pair of gym sneakers inside an open gym bag. _"thirty-six"_ Beside the malodorous sneakers was something that looked like a defective toy boat since it had several holes in them and what looked to be a slingshot of sorts. _"thirty-seven" _She picked up the... um... _toy boat,_ and figured with duct tape she could get it to float in the kiddie pool they had outside _"thirty-eight" _She decided against it and set it back inside the gym bag. She determined she would give Kyou-san a new toy boat for his birthday. _"thirty-nine"_ She directed her attention to the... er... _slingshot_. She picked it up and tried to figure out how to use it. _"forty" _It definitely wasn't a conventional slingshot. As hard as she tried, she couldn't figure out how to use it. Thus, she put it in the right back pocket of her little denim trousers so as to play with it later. _"forty-one"_ The elastic of said _slingshot_ dangled from her little back pocket, and if you looked carefully you could see the Calvin Klein logo playfully peeking from the elastic. _"forty-two"_ As she was about to step out of the fetid closet, she spotted in a small corner, a whole bag full of those... _shields_ Kyou-san liked carrying in his wallet. _"forty-three" __'Kyou-san must be in more danger than I thought if he needs to have at hand that many shields'_ Ojou thought a bit concerned for his safety while she scratched her head. _"forty-four"_

The bag content was as varied as party favors. There were ribbed, flavored, and one that even glowed in the dark._ "forty-five" 'I wonder why you would have a flavored shield.' _She shrugged, but she was more intrigued by the glow in the dark ones. She reasoned that your attacker will know your location if you used the glow in the dark one, particularly at night. _"forty-six" _As she fought the strong urge to grab the glow in the dark one, she stepped out of the stenchful closet, and she tried to softly walk downstairs so that Yoshiro could not hear her coming down.

"**forty-seven**"

She had a great idea. She would hide behind the washer. People look inside washers or dryers but never behind them. She headed to the laundry room.

"**forty-eight**"

Once in the laundry room she tried to squeeze herself behind the washer. She had to hold the dangling elastic from the... um... _slingshot_ so as not to get it caught somewhere while she tried squeezing in. _"forty-nine"_ She smiled pleased with herself. She'd made it just in time.

_"fifty"_ Yoshiro finished counting. _"READY OR NOT HERE I COME!"_

Yoshiro went first to the kitchen. Kyou-san had just finished cutting the vegetables and was putting them in a pot. Yoshiro smiled self-consciously and proceeded to check under the sink and in some cupboards. Kyou looked at him quietly until Yoshiro left. He checked the living room area. There weren't really many places to hide here. He quickly ran to the bathroom and opened the shower curtain with anticipation. He was disappointed to see that the only person there was Wakamatsu who happened to have finished taking a shower at that time.

"YoU LiL' BrAt! WhAT dO YoU THinK yoU'Re DoiNg?" Wakamatsu said barely able to control his voice. Wakamatsu's naked body faced Yoshiro in all its... uh... glory?! and the glare with which he looked at him made Yoshiro take several steps back, eyes wide opened as he mumbled "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry". The problem was that eventhough he said he was sorry he could not avert his eyes at the... hm... _glory _that was Wakamatsu's body. The numerous sinuous scars adorning his barrel-like body making him look scary. However, the medium-sized man boobs made him look comical . The dichotomy of the scars and man boobs made for a bizarre combination. It was like watching a train wreck and a clown show at the same time. Yoshiro wasn't sure if he should laugh or be repulsed. Thus, he did nothing as he was in a rigid state of catalepsis. Wakamatsu took a step forward in an attempt to threaten the boy. Not aware of the impending danger he was in, all Yoshiro could do was busy himself following the trail of a scar on one boob all the way down to Wakamatsu's balls which seemed to hang inordinately lower than his own. He wondered if this was a consequence of age or of that scar that seemed to lovingly embrace one particular testicle.

"That musta hurt" The young boy blurted without thinking. Wakamatsu stopped his attack to follow the young boy's gaze. All murderous thoughts vanished as he answered candidly "Yeah, it did." Wakamatsu recalled how he had been close to death's door that time. He also recalled that he was unconscious for three days, and the first thing he did when he woke up was to check... if everything was _there_.

But the anger came back, and seeing the child rooted to the doorjamb he yelled **"YOU BETTER GET OUTTA HERE!" **This seemed to do the trick and Yoshiro quickly turned to run out of the bathroom. Safely outside the bathroom door, he took a few minutes to recover from his fright. He decided that he should probably just check upstairs first.

He ran upstairs and went through each room. After about 40 minutes of not finding Ojou, Yoshiro started getting bored. He decided to let her win

"Fine, Kumichou, you win. I can't find you. Please, come out." However, Ojou didn't hear it. She had fallen asleep lulled by the sound of the washer while she waited for Yoshiro. "Kumichou" He ran downstairs. "Kumichou!" He went to the training room and called out for Ojou there.

"Kumichou, you win! Come out!" No response.

He barged into the conference room screaming **"KUMICHOU!" **Only to interrupt a very important meeting with a few of Kuroda's allies whose nerves were already on edge. The problem with interrupting a yakuza meeting is that interruptions tend to be with the purpose of terminating someone's life. Of course, Yoshiro using Ojou's school nickname didn't help matters. So, it came as no surprise that a big commotion ensued.

**"WHO SENT YA?" **One kumi stood up while another reached for his gun and waved it around. The one waving the gun yelled **"EVERYONE GET READY."** as he looked from side to side. Yet another one ran around the room screaming **"IT'S AN AMBUSH! IT'S AN AMBUSH! IT'S AN AMBUSH!" **The commotion alerted Wakamatsu and Kyoutarou who, fearing for the Boss' life, stopped what they were doing and came running as fast as they could. Unfortunately Wakamatsu, who was half-naked, only had a blowdryer in hand while Kyoutarou, though fully dressed, came only with a ladle in hand. **"WHAT'S GOING ON?" **They looked through the running kumis in the room. "**BOSS!"** A few kumis toting guns in hand had toppled the table to use it as a shield against the would be shower of bullets they were expecting. **"BOSS!" **A few others eyed the rest thinking that someone must have double-crossed them and they were going to find the doggone culprit or culprits. **"BOSS!!" **Seeing this scene, Yoshiro could only repeat timidly as he grimaced "Ku-Kumichou?"

Now, the Kuroda Kumichou knew Yoshiro was Ojou's friend. He also knew that Yoshiro was in the Kuroda household playing with her. Thus, he tried to calm down the riled up kumis who felt a little bit confined in the conference room. **"IT'S JUST OJOU'S FRIEND! EVERYONE... IT IS JUST OJOU'S FRIEND!" **After the 3rd time of repeating this, the kumis calmed down a bit. Guns were put away, and the table was straightened up as the chairs were put back in place. Now, Yoshiro had not moved from his position. This was partly due to his morbid curiosity, which he had attained from spending too much time with Ojou. The need to see every single piece of gory detail overpowered him. The other part was because right now Ryuuichirou Kuroda was looking at him sternly.

"What is going on, Yoshiro?" The Boss asked the boy. Although he didn't understand the implications of calling someone Kumichou, he did know that Kumiko's grandfather was also called Kumichou, for some reason. This prompted him to drop Ojou's nickname when addressing her grandfather.

"Kumiko-chan and I were playing hide and seek but it has been close to an hour and I have not seen her." Now a game of hide and seek amongst children inside a house is nothing to be concerned about. But a game of hide and seek with a yakuza heir who can not be found and had received kidnapping threats in the past, is a matter of concern.

"Did you check outside?"

"No, one of the rules was that she could only hide inside the house and not in the study room." The kumis looked at each other knowingly. They had all heard from Kuroda about the Urufu no omo trying to kidnap Ojou last year to try to break the alliance with the Buta no o. Nerves were on edge seeing as things had not settled yet. Then again, it could be that another clan was trying to break up this particular meeting and used Ojou as a distraction. It was these thoughts that had all the kumis in the conference room fanning out of the room as they crouched down to look for Ojou.

"Ojou!" Fifteen burly men, most of them scarred, were now seen apparently playing a child's game. They had all been rendered "it" as the search for Ojou commenced. Wakamatsu, now self-conscious of his man boobs, went back to the bathroom to finish getting dressed so that he could look for Ojou with the other kumis. Kyoutarou went to the kitchen to turn off all the burners and leave the ladle there while he looked for his revolver.

"Ojou!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ojou!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ojou!". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ojou!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "**OJOU**!!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now, 30 minutes had passed since the kumis had begun their search. Her grandfather ordered two of his kumis to go out and look for anyone suspicious.

"**OJOU!**" Kumiko woke up as she heard a number of people calling her. She squeezed out from behind the washer. And peeked at the kumis being "it". She was excited to see so many of her _uncles_ playing Hide and Seek with her.

One of the kumis spotted her, but before he could say anything, Kumiko rushed past him. After all, she didn't want to get tagged before reaching "Home". She ran to the living room and stood by the lamp designated "Home".

**"I WIN! I WIN! I WIN!" **Ojou said jumping up and down getting the attention of the kumis.

Ryuuichirou Kuroda ran towards his granddaughter and gave her a hug. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Ojou replied a bit puzzled.

"Yoshiro has been looking for you for close to one and a half hours and could not find you. We have been looking for you for 30 minutes." At the mention of his name, Yoshiro stepped forward. Wakamatsu hearing that Ojou had been found, had called the other two Kuroda kumis to tell them to stop the search outside. Kyoutarou had dashed to the living room to see for himself that Ojou was O.K.

"I was behind the washer waiting for Yoshiro to find me. I waited and waited until I fell asleep. I was trying to play with Kyou's slingshot" Ojou produced the... er... _slingshot _only to receive strange looks. Kyou stepped forward. Realizing what it was, he snatched it from Ojou's little fingers.

"Ojou, this isn't a slingshot" Ojou looked at Kyou as if he was trying to make a joke she didn't understand.

"Huh? What is it then?" He really didn't want to talk about athletic support and the questions that would surely follow.

"I-it's underwear" The least said the better was his thought.

"Huh? Underwear?" She looked at Kyou's underwear and wondered what kind of underwear was it that wouldn't even cover Kyou's... _ass_ets. She thought even a fundoshi has some coverage there. And, without thinking Ojou said "But that won't even cover your buttcrack!" This brought the rest of the kumi into an uproarious laughter while Kyou hid his face behind the _bottomless underwear_. The whole scare of an ambush and a potential kidnapping forgotten.

Yoshiro, walked surreptitiously towards Kumiko and under his breath said, _"Next time we play __Hide and Seek__, we do it at my house."_

* * *

_**A/N**_: I was trying to give this chapter a sense of urgency with the countdown. Of course, this restricted the things I wanted to say, but I really didn't want to have to go further than a 50 count. Actually, I wanted the count to be 30, but try as I might I could not say all I wanted to say. As it is, I could still say more but I hope I said enough without compromising the sense of urgency I wanted to give it. Sigh 


	8. Of Kidnappings & Fun With Onomatopoeias

_**A/N**_: In this chapter, I jump from one place to another without much of an introduction. I hope it is not too confusing.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Of Kidnappings And Fun With Onomatopoeias**_(age 8)_

She wasn't a morning person. She went through the litany of her morning routine which was a series of events each orchestrated to wake her up. She sat up and tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand. Her feet dangled from the edge of the bed. She stood up tentatively waiting for the feel of the cold floor on her feet to act as a pseudo alarm clock. Her mind was still hazy with sleep. She stumbled groggily towards the bathroom and peed. She took a cold shower to purge the last remaining vestiges of lethargy away. She was thankful she didn't have to worry about what to wear to school. She got dressed and combed her hair. Afterwards, she went downstairs to get breakfast where she made light conversation. Once she was done, she brushed her teeth, and announced she was leaving for school.

Uomasa-san and his wife, Miho, waited for her with abated breathe. They had never had any children and always looked forward to her daily walk to school.

"Going to school already, Ojou?" Uomasa-san always asked when she passed by. Ojou would nod.

"Be good, and study hard!" Miho said daily. This exchange was the same every school day. Ojou smiled and waved as she continued onto Yoshiro's house.

Yoshiro always waited outside his house with his long bluish hair covering his sad looking eyes. His sister, Meiko, was 7 years his senior, making her 15, a freshman in High School, and in full blown puberty. Her new found preoccupation with her hair and skin was a source of amusement for our young heir who took each opportunity she spent at Yoshiro's house to study said girl.

Ojou, being the only female in a sea of men, didn't really know much about girls, even though she was one herself. The only female family member she used to have was her mother. Nevertheless, in her young eyes, her mother had been just that, her mother. No gender label had been placed on her. Moreover, she didn't even have female friends her age or otherwise. She actually never questioned it. It was just a fact she took for granted. It was easier for her to talk to boys. She understood them. This was probably the reason why Meiko fascinated her. Her going into a tailspin over a single pimple that had erupted on her otherwise baby smooth skin was at best laughable. However, it was her announcement that the repercussions of that sole pimple would be of cataclysmic proportions to her social life that had Ojou intrigued as to how this pimple could accomplish such a thing. Of course, it didn't help Meiko that Ojou's intrigue had her looking at it mesmerized by the power of such a simple skin eruption. The mixture of Ojou's close scrutiny and Meiko's paranoia had prompted Meiko to pronounce that her life was over. This included the mandatory dash to her room which left Ojou perplexed. She had looked at Yoshiro for an explanation. Yoshiro had simply shrugged this incident off as his sister being a _cootie-head_: his own words.

So, every school day, Meiko and Yoshiro waited for Ojou. She was glad that Ojou and Yoshiro had started walking to school together. Her mother, not wanting Yoshiro to walk by himself, used to ask Meiko to walk him to school. This was a big pain for Meiko seeing that her High School was in the opposite direction.

As the young Kuroda child approached them, she hurried her steps only to be greeted by Meiko ruffling her hair. "Hi, y'squirt!" Meiko always said. She barely waited for a response before she started walking in the opposite direction. The two children always watched her leave, and they waited as if following a well rehearsed ritual. A few feet away, without looking back, she raised her hand. "Take care of my lil' bro." She said each day, knowing full well that it grated her little brother. A grin, that no one saw, was always plastered on her face as she said this. It was only then that the children ventured to head towards school.

Their walk to school was always accompanied by animated conversation. Questions spanned from homework to what had been on TV the night before. Along the way they waved good-bye to uncle Hara, another villager who was protective of Ojou. He was always the last person to greet them before leaving the Kuroda territory.

So far, the routine of her day had not been broken. Nothing exciting or out of the ordinary had taken place. There were no portents of things to come, no augur to foretell the events that would follow, no warning that'd indicate how this day was about to unfold. Maybe such a mundane and ordinary day was in itself an omen, a presage of what was to come. Maybe the whole calm-before-the-storm phenomenon was what was taking effect here. The point was that no one was prepared for the next string of events.

As they stopped to wait for the pedestrian light to turn, a car stopped on the curb. A man, with a Baretta trademark cap pulled down over his forehead, got out and swooped on the children. He attempted to grab Ojou only to be hit in the balls by her bookbag. The man doubled over in pain. She swung around to grab Yoshiro and flee only to collide with another man, capless, and with a gold tooth that sparkled as he smirked. Yoshiro had crouched down. He was doing something to the neck of the prone body, but as he saw Ojou being taken, he swung his bookbag full force on the gold-tooth man's shin. This bookbag didn't seem to do much damage. The only indication that the man had been hit was a small flinch and a shake of the leg. Yoshiro continued trying to attack the man's legs and arms to force him to let go of Ojou.

Ojou, who hadn't yet managed to defeat Kyou-san in their training sessions, knew she was in trouble. The man was carrying her under his arm like a package: too high to reach his balls, too low to reach his face. She could try to hit the pit of the stomach. However, as hard as she tried, she still couldn't find it.

"What're ya tryin' t'do? Give me a massage?!" He mocked her failed attempts. Her face was apoplectic with rage, or maybe it was due to the way she was being carried or both. She noticed Yoshiro's unsuccesful attempts to free her.

"Geez Yoshiro, what're y'doing? Hit 'im in da balls!" She flailed around under the gold-tooth man's arm like a rag doll.

Now it doesn't matter what age a boy is, it seems it is considered underhanded to hit another man in the balls. That is, unless you're a yakuza trained by Kyou or you are a group of men drunk out of your skull, in which case the whole thing devolves into a game of farting, burping and hitting each other _there_. This, apparently, is a source of great amusement when a lot of alcohol is present. Although in some cases, no alcohol is needed and a healthy dose of _stupid _is what propels such behavior. Which brings up an interesting point, if alcohol reduces inhibitions, does this mean that men have a secret desire to hit each other _there_? What exactly makes this kind of hitting taboo? Maybe it's because they know the pain it can incur first hand that make men not take advantage of such an obvious weakness, or maybe it's the actual contact with genitalia too similar to their own that discourages such an action. Though it would be interesting to see a fight if hitting _there _was allowed. It would certainly be a very short fight and would mainly consist on who could get the first hit. Of course, that might create a subgroup of men with testicles the size of grapefruits, and women looking at that area unabashed, asking "So, you've been fighting again?"... _ahem_... In any case, the point was that, for whatever reason, Yoshiro paused. It was this pause that doom the children since a fight between an 8 yr old and a 30+ yr old can only be won by the 8 yr old if the child incapacitates the man long enough to run away. Needless to say that the moment was lost and the kidnapper pushed Yoshiro. The boy fell on his back, while the man got in the car. The capped man, who had recovered from the blow to his nether regions, got in the car as well.

Yoshiro felt stupid as the car sped away with his friend. He took out his firefly cellphone and called his mom at work explaining the situation. His mother called the Kuroda Kumichou.

-o-

"Sit still." The guy with the gold tooth was mildly surprised that his threats seemed to have no effect on the child. He looked at the capped guy and the driver with puzzlement. The driver returned the puzzled look through the rear view mirror while the capped guy gave a sidelong glance at the young Kuroda heir. In all honesty, if it had been anyone else, they'd have probably smacked them but they were not dealing with a regular person here. It was one thing to use the Kuroda child to coerce the Kuroda Kumichou and another to return said child in less than pristine condition. If anything happened to the child, they knew there would be no place on earth they could hide before they would experience an untimely death.

They had expected the natural fear people had at the mere sight of them to help them keep the child in check. They had not counted on the child been undaunted by the sight of them. _'This kid is really odd'_ Thus, as if to test this hypothesis, the gold-tooth man made a face in order to scare her. She laughed.

"That was a good one." She made a face of her own. This startled the gold-tooth man who gapped in wonder. The bottom of his gold tooth glinted against the sunlight. The driver couldn't help but chuckle. The capped man, however, wasn't amused.

She grinned and waited in silence for a few seconds. Unfortunately, Ojou wasn't one to be known for her patience, but then again most children aren't. Nevertheless, this was something that Ojou will not outgrow as she becomes an adult. Since they weren't saying anything, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"None of your beeswax." The capped man responded, still chagrined at having been brought down by an 8 year old _girl_. The young child looked at him puzzled until understanding dawned on her. After all, she had been with the yakuza for a year and some months now, and she knew the kumi were prone to posturing and bragging about their manhood. It was simply shameful to have been bested by an 8 year old _girl_.

"You know, you should get over it." The capped man looked at her embarrased. "Just chuck it up as a learning experience."

She took a good look at the car and the three men inside it, afterwards she leaned out the window to study her whereabouts. Once she knew where she was, she focused her attention back on the three kidnappers and said, "You guys suck at this, do you know?"

"Why do you say that?" The driver asked looking through the rear view mirror. He thought about ignoring her as the other two had but curiosity got the best of him.

"I can identify you, and I know where we are." She said making a point to look at each of the men.

_"Shit"_ The three men muttered as if rehearsed. She grinned. They looked for something to cover their faces.

She tapped her right temple with her forefinger and said, "Too late. I remember." Her mocking tone was playful, sort of like a tiger playing with his food. Needless to say, it creeped out the kidnappers, who decided it was best to drive in silence. All thoughts of concealment had been abandoned.

They stopped at what looked like a fishing cabin made out of wood with a straw roof. The cabin, hidden amidst the forested setting, lay seemingly discarded and forgotten. Isolated from the rest of the world, it looked to be in a state of disrepair. The steps on the path leading to the cabin consisted of slabs of stone embedded on the dirt.

They trekked quietly towards the seemingly abandoned cabin. It was not like time and neglect had been responsible for tarnishing the beauty of its heyday. There had been no beauty there since its construction. The cabin was small and badly constructed. It had the feel of a tree house about to collapse.

The gold-tooth man opened the door which did not creak. The young heir thought it was odd but didn't dwell on it.

Once inside, the run down house turned into a modest abode complete with electricity and water. The cabin only had the one room plus a bathroom. As soon you entered you were greeted by a gas stove, a small sink and a very small fridge, in that order. In the middle of the room there was a square table surrounded by four chairs. A modest loveseat and a storage bench were arranged predictably against the wall. The bathroom door was to the right of the loveseat.

There was an open box underneath the table, which was empty except for some bubble wrapping hidden beneath styrofoam peanuts. The item that required such careful packing had been retrieved not long ago. The box and the wrapping material looked new. There was hardly any dust there. In fact, the whole room looked quite clean. Obviously the cabin's exterior was meant to look abandoned to deter the curiosity of passersby.

"I've gotta go pee." She said holding her little legs together as she fidgeted.

The three kumis looked at each other wondering if someone had to go with her. "There's a bathroom right here." The driver pointed to the door to the right of the loveseat. He stuck his head in the bathroom to check if there were any windows the girl might be able to use as an escape route. Seeing that there was only a utility window high up the ceiling with dimensions about 17x15, he was satisfied that the girl would not escape. He said, "Can you go by yourself?" She looked at him with an indignant expression on her face.

"What do you think I am, two? Pfft I am eight and a half." She said proudly like if she was an adult. She headed towards the bathroom grumbling to herself. _"What a bunch of idiots!"_

Ignoring the child, the capped man took his cellphone out of his jacket. He proceeded to call the Kuroda Kumichou while the girl was in the bathroom. The tone indicating that it was ringing was interrupted in mid-ring by a very angry Kuroda Boss who was attempting to keep his temper in check.

"Who's this?" The Boss asked. A hint of a challenge was barely detected.

"I think you know who this is." The capped guy liked making people read between the lines especially in this kind of situation.

"What do you want?" It was asked more as a segue than as an actual question. The Kuroda Boss knew perfectly well what he wanted.

"We want you to break the alliance with the Buta no O." The Kuroda clan was small. They relied heavily on their alliances, which were many.

"You're going to an awful lot of trouble to break a simple alliance." There was a question hidden somewhere there. The capped man was pleased that this yakuza Boss knew how to play the game.

"True." The admission was an indirect response to the hidden question. In other words, the Kuroda Boss didn't need to know why they wanted him to break the alliance but it was important he did so.

"You must think I'm stupid." The implication was clear. The Kuroda Kumichou understood more than they had intended. It was those alliances plus the fact that the Kurodas were honorable kumi, which was sort of an oxymoron, that made them so powerful.

"No, I think you love your granddaughter too much." However, being honorable amongst all the illegal dealings was something the older kumi admired. The young kumi sprouting up had more of the pirate mentality. See something, want something, plunder something, and forget about consequences. If the Kuroda Boss broke the alliance just because he was threatened then the other clans with whom they had alliances would see this as a weakness. The Kuroda word would mean nothing. They'd be left like a wounded animal, only the other clans would not wait for their last futile gasps of air. They'd rip apart the clan limb by metaphoric limb and then scavange what little territory was left amongst themselves. To survive, you must show no weakenesses.

On the other end of the phone line, all that could be heard were the exhaled snorts of anger of the Kuroda Kumichou.

"Don't worry. We don't want to harm her." The carefully chosen words of the capped man were understood by the Boss. They might not want to but they might have to.

Ryuuichirou Kuroda looked over at Wakamatsu who nodded at him. This nod put the Kuroda Boss in a very good mood. "I see", was his simple response. The change of attitude was not lost on the capped man, who wondered how had he lost the upper hand.

"Expect a call from us in an hour." The capped man said flustered. He did not like losing the upper hand. _"Shit"_ He grumbled, hitting the table with his fist. The one that had been driving cocked an eyebrow while the gold-tooth man ventured a question.

"What happened?"

"He's up to something. I know it." He said looking in the distance. He replayed the conversation in his head looking for a clue as to the abrupt change of tide.

"Whose up to something?" The three men had forgotten about the young child who was, at the moment, standing right beside the capped man.

"Your grandfather." He growled letting his anger flare once more.

"What do you want with my grandfather?" She was used to the kumi having short fuses so this short burst of anger went unnoticed by her.

"...business..." The capped man trailed off wondering what the Kuroda Boss was planning. His thoughts were interrupted by the young heir.

"I am the last blood of the Kuroda clan. If you're talking business with my grandfather, you can talk business with me!" She didn't like being dismissed without thought. She remembered the talk her grandfather had given her about the yakuza and her responsibility and consequences so she figured she was entitled to an explanation.

"This has nothing to do with you." The capped man waved off the girl's demand.

"...then what the hell am I doin' here?" She stood legs apart, arms on her waist and scowl on her face.

"You ask too many questions." The other two men just stood there looking at the interaction between the capped man and the Kuroda child.

"That ain't a bad thing!" She remembered Ms. Ishikawa saying that asking questions is the only way you can understand things. It was always better to ask in order to gain understanding than to pretend to know what's going on and then make matters worse.

"Yes, it is." He was through fighting with the child. He wished she'd just shut up.

"Why?" The young Kuroda heir insisted.

"Here, have a cookie" He took a cookie from a ziploc bag in his pocket and tried to shove it in her mouth to keep her quiet. The young girl moved to avoid the movement but extended her hand to get the cookie.

"Just sit there and try not to get into trouble." The capped man leaned in closer in a last ditch attempt to threaten Ojou as he pointed at the storage bench.

"Geez! Your breath smells." She held her nose with the hand not holding the cookie. He cupped his hand in front of his mouth and exhaled then quickly inhaled to check his breath.

"I told ya." The gold-tooth man chuckled while the one that had been driving bit his lips in an attempt not to laugh.

"Shuddap!... just give me a friggin' mint"

-o-

The Kuroda Boss had tried to prevent his granddaughter's kidnapping to no avail. This was the reason why he had given her a Disney mobile. Sure, Disney cellphones are more suitable for someone age 10+ but the advantage of this cellphone is that the parents can use the GPS system to check the child's whereabouts at any time, for a fee. So, the Kuroda Kumichou had asked Wakamatsu to check the location while he waited for a call. It wasn't until close to the end of that conversation that Wakamatsu had confirmed that they knew the exact location of Ojou. Well, at least, the exact location of her cellphone.

A hostage situation was nothing to sneeze at. How he handled this will indicate to the other clans his leadership skills and his strength amongst the yakuza.

"Tsuji, Toru stay here in case they call again." Tsuji, being the father figure of 50+ years old, wasn't seeing as many fights as he had in his younger years. The Kuroda Kumichou tried to steer him away from the most savage fights. And if they did something to Ojou it would turn into a very savage and bloody fight.

The Kuroda Boss reasoned that Tsuji deserved some rest seeing as most kumi hardly live through their 50's. He wanted to let him retire, but Tsuji was loyal and wouldn't hear of it. Besides all he had known was the kumi life so he wasn't sure Tsuji could survive in the katagi world. In any case, it was good for morale to have Tsuji regale the younger kumi with stories of past fights and how things used to be in the yakuza.

Before leaving, the grandfather made one call to the Buta no O Kumichou. He was sure that since this was all due to the Urufu no Omo wanting their alliance broken then it was only fitting that the Buta no O should help them recover Ojou. The Buta no O had no choice but to agree to help rescue Ojou.

And, as a facsimile of a locker room speech, the Kuroda Kumichou said, "Men, let's go get Ojou!"

-o-

The capped man needed to think, but before doing that he needed to relax. He had become agitated by Kuroda's change of attitude. He hated when things didn't go as planned. The gold-tooth man suggested a game of poker to calm down some nerves. The other two agreed, and the one that had been driving appointed himself the dealer. He took the cards from the gold-tooth man's hand and proceeded to shuffle them expertly.

Ojou had not sat down. She kept going around the table studying the faces of the men playing poker while she ate the cookie.

The dealer slid the cards around the table.

She had learned from Toru the finer points of poker. Toru loved poker. She remembered him saying that what made poker interesting was that it did not matter what kind of hand you had, good or bad, you could still win.

Each player studied their cards.

Toru said it wasn't luck but brains. She remembered that, after hearing the whole explanation, she came to the conclusion that poker was more of a study on lying. How well can you lie without being caught, and how well can you spot someone lying. It was, she considered, a slightly more mature version of the children's card game 'I Doubt It'. In the children's card game, the child either blatantly lies or tells the truth. In poker, the adults do not blatantly lie but suggest misinformation. Thus, the difference is in the finesse of the lie.

"D'ya want any cards?" The dealer asked the capped man.

Ojou was now sitting at the storage bench, bored out of her little mind.

"I'll take one." He said as he gave away one of the ones in his hand. Ojou started wiggling on the bench while her little hands held on to the edge of the seat. The dealer handed him a card.

Now we all know that the average time a child can keep still is about 3 seconds. Well, I exaggerate. The point is that you put a child in a position where they have to stay still for awhile and they'll squirm and wiggle and fidget until they are told they are allowed to move. Of course, if you are like most adults, you try to distract said child. Most people head for the T.V. but when there is no T.V. nor computer then you are left with trying to give the child some toy to have him or her entertain himself or herself. Of course, this toy will invariably be a noisy one. This, as such, is of no real concern. However, combine that to children's habit of entertaining themselves by engaging in repetitive behavior and you have a lethal combination... at least for the adults present.

"Whatta 'bout ya?" The dealer looked at the gold-tooth man. . . _**thud**_. . . _**thud**_. . . _**thud**_. . ._**thud**_. . . The men looked in the direction of the noise to discover that is was due to the young Kuroda heir. Her little feet were swinging up and down only to hit the storage bench on each downstroke.

"That'll be" _**thud **_"two for me" _**thud **_The dealer slid two cards towards him as he slid two towards the dealer. _**thud**_. . . _**thud**_. . . _**thud**_. . ._**thud**_. . . The thuds had not ceased.

"Dealer" _**thud **_"will take" _**thud **_"two as well" _**thud **_By now each thud was grating on the men. The capped man seemed to have a nervous tic as he flinched with each thud.

"So..." _**thud **_"what'll you" _**thud **_"bet?" The dealer was rolling his eyes and sighing loudly. _**thud**_. . _**thud**_. . The capped man was rubbing small circles on his temples. _**thud**_. . . _**thud **_The gold-tooth man dragged his hand across his face. _**thud**_. . . _**thud**_

"COULD YOU" _**thud**_. . . . _**thud**_. . . . "STOP THAT?!" The capped man had lost his patience. Ojou looked at him oblivious.

The gold-tooth man looked for something to entertain the young child. Seeing the box with the packing material under the table, he handed it to her. "Here", he said. He figured that children entertain themselves with almost anything, and a box with trash in it would be a source of great pleasure. Sometimes he envied children's fertile imagination.

Unfortunately, he didn't see what exactly was inside the box. The bubble wrap was hidden amidst all the peanut styrofoam. Since ignorance is bliss, he happily went back to his seat to continue the game.

"So... what will you bet?" Repeated the dealer to the capped man.

Thankful for the quiet, he smiled and said, "I'll bet five." The dealer looked at the gold-tooth man. His eyes asking the question his mouth didn't. Ojou looked inside the box and saw the bubble wrap amongst the styrofoam peanuts and became excited.

"Hm... " The gold-tooth man studied the smile of the capped man. He wondered how much of that smile was due to the silence and how much due to the hand he was dealt. He deliberated for a few seconds too many before a sound interrupted his thoughts. _**pop**_. . . . _**pop**_. . . He tried ignoring it. "I'll see" _**pop **_"your five and" _**pop **_"raise you ten" _**pop**_. . . _**pop **_

The men didn't look at the source of the noise. They all knew where it was coming from. _**pop**_. . . _**pop**_

"I'll" _**pop**_"see that" _**pop **_And before the dealer could continue, the capped man stood up and dashed towards the young child. He snatched the bubble wrap. He dropped it on the floor and proceeded to stomp on the bubbles. _**popOPOPopOpoPopopoPOPoPopoPOp**_.Satisfied that he had seemingly popped all of them, he picked it up and gave it back to the young child. The Kuroda heir looked at the man emoteless as if she herself was playing poker and this was her poker face while given her hand. She studied the wrapping as the capped man went back to his seat. A satisfied look on his face. Unfortunately, he did not get them all, and before his rear hit the chair, it happened. _**pop**_. . . . . _**pop**_. . . . _**pfffsst**_. Now that last sound was the sound of a half-popped bubble. And, it was this long drawn pathetic noise that was mocking the capped man. _**pop**_. . . . _**pop **_. . . _**pfffsst**_. . . _**pfffsst**_. . . . _**pop**_. .The capped man lost it. The gold-tooth man had to hold him down so that he wouldn't run out of the cabin screaming. Well, maybe not screaming, but definitely to stop him from leaving. They had a task to perform. The dealer went over to Ojou and took the wrapping.

"Here" He said with a drained look on his face. She took the pen offered. "Now, what about writing on that box. O.K.?" He went back to his seat. He checked his watch. Only 10 minutes had passed since the phone call which meant that in 50 minutes they were going to call again, that is if they can get the capped man to relax and figure out what the grandfather was planning so they can come up with a countermeasure. "Well..." He said looking at the capped man. "D'ya want any cards?"

The capped man rubbed his forehead with one hand and with the other one motioned for one card. In silence, they each slid one card as if it was an illegal transaction. The dealer looked at the gold-tooth man. "What about ya?" _**click**_. . . _**click**_. . . _**click **_The gold-tooth man tried not to laugh but he couldn't help it. _**click**_. . . . _**click **_The dealer smothered a chuckle giving a sidelong glance to the capped guy who was at this moment laughing and crying at the same time. _**click**_. . . . _**click **_His card carrying hand trembling as the other one covered his face with fingers outstretched. _**click**_. . . . _**click **_His whole body started convulsing. _**click**_. . _**click**_ . After a few seconds he mustered enough control to say, "Sh- sh- sh-" _**click **_"sh-she's" _**click **_"doing it" _**click **_"on p-purpose." _**click**_ . . . _**click**_

"Of course not!" _**click**_. . . _**click **_"She is just eight!" The gold-tooth man said between laughter as he pointed with an open palm at the Kuroda child.

_**click **_"Eight. And. A. Half" _**click **_Corrected the young heir without interrupting her clicking. _**click**_. . . . _**click**_

"Get a" _**click **_"hold of" _**click **_"yourself" _**click **_"man!" The dealer put a hand on the capped man's convulsing shoulder.

Amidst the clicking, the capped man losing body control, the gold-tooth man laughing unashamed, and the one who drove looking at the whole thing bewildered, someone broke down the door.

A very pissed off Kuroda Kumichou burst in. For a second, he didn't know what to make of the scene, then he heard it. _**click**_. . . _**click**_. . _**click**_

"Hey, grandpa!" _**click**_. . . _**click **_The granddaughter continued gleefully clicking the pen.

The grandfather smiled inwardly. He gulped trying to stifle a laugh and said, "Kyou grab Ojou and take her to the house while we... take care... of the kidnappers." He said with a feral grin. _**click**_ . . . . _**click**_ . . . . _**click**_

Kyou grabbed Ojou like a sack of potatoes and began to run outside when he heard the grandfather say as a last minute command, "Take the pen away from Ojou before you get in the car."

* * *

_**A/N**_: First, I know Uomasa-san's wife is not given a name (at least up until where I have read the manga) so I gave her the name Miho. If she is given a name and someone cares to let me know, I will change it. 

Second, I know I am inconsistent as to how to call the area where the Kuroda clan is. I call it district, neighborhood, village. For the purpose of this fic (and maybe future ones) I will call it any of the three as I see fit unless someone objects and PM's me a good reason (manga-wise) why it should be one as opposed to the others.

Thirdly, the men hitting each other _there _under the influence of alcohol was something I read, mentioned in passing, on some blog. I thought it was odd enough that I had to write about it. None of my friends, as far as I know, do that. Then again, I have never seen them drunk out of their wits. So, who knows what men do when women aren't around, ne?

Lastly, I do not know much about Japan's topography, geography or architectural design. My description of the fishing cabin by the lake within a forest is, obviously, pure fiction fashioned by my erratic mind.


	9. Vigil

_**A/N**_: This is a serious chapter (in a sweet sort of way) more so than I had intended. I rewrote it several times since I didn't have a good feel for the mood I wanted to give it plus I wanted to keep it within T rating. Of course, this doesn't look at all like what I had originally envisioned, but I am quite happy with it. I want to thank _Gaijinfan _for letting me know what I could get away with in a T-rating story and what might be M-rating. This was inspired by it.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Vigil**_ (age 8)_

From the moment of the first kidnapping threats, the Kuroda Kumichou had his suspicions about the real reasons behind them. At first, he tried to dismiss them as him being overly cautious. The plan seemed simple enough: They wanted to coerce him into breaking his alliance with the Buta no O using his granddaughter as leverage. What was so crucial about this alliance that the Urufu no Omo were willing to risk incurring his wrath?

The Buta no O was an average clan, of average size territory-wise and number-wise. They were simply ordinary. They weren't well known, and the handful of alliances they held would not shift the power balance in the yakuza world. Their own Kumichou was a fair, level headed man. It was for this particular reason, and the fact that their territory bordered Kuroda's from the NE, that the Kuroda Boss sought an alliance with them.

Where does the Buta no O fit in the grand scheme of things? He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was an insiduous tone to the whole setup that bothered him, though he never voiced his suspicions to anyone.

During the year and some months of the threats, he waited... and he watched... all the while trying to keep his granddaughter safe. He hoped the final objective would elucidate itself before he struck. And, he had to strike. It was inevitable. It was an inalienable truth from which he could not escape. The only two questions left to consider were when and with how much force. And for that, he needed proof. After all, only idiots go off half-cocked after unsubstantiated guesswork regardless of how educated that guesswork may be.

What he discovered, the month before the kidnapping, confirmed his worst fears: The target was his clan. Why were they targeting Kuroda? He didn't know. The information was enough to start an attack of their own. He waited for the right time only to have Yoshiro's mother interrupt his waiting period. She'd called to inform him of Ojou's kidnapping, he was livid. He started second guessing himself. He should have listened to his instincts. He could have struck earlier. He would have gotten it over with before they got her. He shoulda, he coulda, he woulda... but he didn't.

During Ojou's rescue, the three kidnappers shed light on the reason why they had set their sights on the Kuroda clan.

Though the scheme was instituted by the Urufu no Omo, the plan itself found its inception amongst the most unscrupulous clans. These lesser clans, who nervous about the unrestraint power growth manifested by the Kuroda clan, felt it their duty to put a stop to it. It was staggering that Kuroda had attained this level of power while only claiming a small area as its territory. What was mind-boggling was the fact that this power made a giant out of a midget, the Kuroda clan being one of the smallest clans in the yakuza.

Another interesting point about this plan was that the Buta no O had been of little importance to the whole scheme. They just happened to be the newest alliance forged by the Kuroda clan. In a new alliance, any small disturbance would be met with suspicion, and little time to explain oneself before someone jumps to the wrong conclusions. This fragile relationship could easily turn hostile which was a key ingredient for this _master plan_ to work.

All in all, the grandfather had to admit the plan, in theory, was brilliant in a very underhanded and cunning way. Breaking an alliance because he was coerced to do so would discredit him and thereby his clan. Going to the police for help was not a viable option. His authority would be undermined, he himself humiliated. Yet, that was precisely the point: The whole demise of his clan without the _messy clean up_. And therein lay the beauty of the scheme.

Admittedly, Kuroda had beaten the information out of them, and things people say under duress are not always infallible. This led him on a beating spree of the Urufu no Omo who confirmed what the three men had said. Of course, beating for confirmation on information gathered by beating seemed illogical. However, there was method in his madness. The Kuroda Boss deduced that if under duress they corroborated what the others had said, without previous knowledge of it, then chances are the information was sound. Still a little bit on the iffy side, but Kuroda was royally pissed. And since, through all the machinations of the lesser clans, it was the Urufu no Omo's chief who advocated the plan, he will be the one carrying the brunt of the blame. And Kuroda personally would make an example out of him.

-o-

No one saw what happened but as soon as it started, it ended with the chief apparently enjoying a dip in the lake. The frigid water threatening to rob the remaining body heat he'd left. An overly curious trout nibbled on the shiny buttons of his cuffs while another took an interest on his shoelaces. Through the gentle tugs, he remained motionless. The soft wind gently moved him across the lake as the sun closed a sympathetic eye at the sightless orbs staring up in seemingly silent contemplation. The tenant of the brown windows of his soul long gone.

No one gave the incident another thought until weeks later when three naked, barely-lucid kumi were found wandering the tourist area of a well known lake. In their delirium, all they said was that they wouldn't do it again. However, it was the one found by some boaters, in the peak of tourist season, which prompted the locals to clamor for okami involvement, afraid that they might lose business this tourist season.

Normally the okami would let strife within clans slip under the radar. Turning a blind eye towards these inner fightings was a way of letting the clans off each other without having to spend any manpower. Be that as it may, the okami had no other choice but to respond lest the locals accused them of being pocketed by the yakuza.

The Urufu no Omo had been questioned once the okami had found out that the four kumi belonged to this clan. However, their beaten semblance was a testament that the okami's questions would be met with an unspoken vow of silence.

The okami got one lead from a local gas station owner who had seen the three wandering men traveling with a small child. The okami later identified the small child as being Kumiko Yamaguchi, the young Kuroda heir. Technically, they weren't investigating the events concerning the three naked kumi since they'd refused to file any charges against the ones responsible. The okami, however, figured that whatever happened to the three naked kumi might be connected to the circumstances surrounding the one found by some boaters which brought them to the Kuroda household asking for the Kuroda Kumichou.

They'd tried talking to the child, but with the protective eyes of ten kumi on them, it was nearly impossible to get anything useful. They decided to concentrate their efforts on the Kuroda Boss.

The Kuroda child wasn't completely aware of the situation. It was the first time she saw the okami in the Kuroda house. In her young eyes, all she saw was the okami asking for her grandfather, followed by the most angelic faces the kumi could muster. The Kuroda men feigned ignorance when asked if they knew anything about the three naked kumi and the one found by the boaters. Through small pouts and eyes as big as saucers that glistened with a shiny sheen, they claimed, "We know nothing". The problem with that look was that instead of making them look innocent, it had the opposite effect. Sort of like a child found with his face covered in crumbs and smeared in chocolate frosting claiming that he doesn't know who ate that last piece of chocolate cake.

The grandfather raised a hand to stop their hopeless rendition of what should have been innocent-faces. He instructed the men to call Furukawa-sensei, Kuroda's lawyer. The Kuroda Boss talked privately with Kyou while casting surreptitious glances at the young heir. Finally, the grandfather approached the young Kuroda child and smiled. "I'll be back... _sooner or later_. I just need to have a talk with these men." He patted her head gently. "Listen to Kyou, O.K.?" She nodded and saw the okami take her grandfather away. No other explanation was given to her.

Minutes turned into hours without a sign of her grandfather. She waited. She sat on the front porch, arms hugging her knees in a state of vigil. Fuji, Kuroda's 5th generation tosa dog, sat down beside her as if to keep her company.

The Kuroda kumi felt helpless. If the pain Ojou was experiencing had been caused by something tangible, then they would have gladly beaten it senseless to protect their Ojou, but... against this... against something impalpable... there wasn't anything they could do but watch silently and hope she'd deal with it on her own. _'She'll come inside in due time', _the kumi thought.

They tried to go on about their business. Certainly, it had not been the first time one of the clan had been called by the okami for interrogation. But the young child's wait made the kumi a bit uneasy. Someone might have to talk to her about the possibility of her grandfather going to jail.

She'd heard stories about some of the men being taken by the okami. Some were sent to jail and did not come back for months, sometimes years. She didn't exactly understand the stories. Then again, she'd only heard Tsuji's abridged versions. The confusing part was the fact that some of them bragged about the time spent there. She'd always been taught that jail was a bad place. It was these warring concepts that had her young mind reasoning it must be like summer camp: you really don't want to go there but once you do it turns out to be fun for most people.

She absently stroked Fuji's wrinkled head whose only response was to rest said head on the young heir's lap. When she stopped, Fuji gave a soft whimper as he nuzzled her chin. The young Kuroda heir resumed her attention on Fuji. _"You're sad too"_, she said in hushed tones. _"He'll be back. Don't worry."_ She hugged the massive neck of the tosa dog who put a tentative paw on her lap as quiet reassurance.

Huddled against the living room windows overlooking the front porch were the Kuroda men who sniveled at the tender moment. The sniveling was followed by some slaps and a few _"ssshhhs"_. Ojou didn't hear any of it. She was too engrossed in her own thoughts.

She knew there was a chance she might not see him for a while. Would her grandfather be back today? Her childlike faith had her reasoning that if she waited, the chances that he'd come back would be higher. Thus, she waited. The kumi's concern grew as the minutes ticked away. They tried to get her to come inside to eat dinner, but she claimed she wasn't hungry. "I'll just wait until grandpa gets back." They indulged her and brought her a sandwich for dinner.

After the jeweled sky made its appearance, the kumi tried once more to get her to come inside. Nestling the side of her head on her arms as she let them rest on her knees, she said weakly, "Just 5 more minutes". The kumi, with a pained smile, gave a slight nod and left. Her little eyes fluttered as she fought the desire to nod off while the tosa dog stood guard over her.

The kumi were restless. They stole covert glances at her while they elbowed each other trying to decide whose turn was it to try to get her back inside. This time is was Kyou's turn to approach the young heir. "Hey, lil' bit!" He called softly. She looked at him and offered him a weak smile. He didn't know what else to say, so he sat by her and waited in silent company.

After a few minutes, she scooted closer to him. She scrambled onto his lap and leaned against his chest without saying a word. Kyou-san wasn't quite sure how to react to this. His arms dangled awkwardly at his sides as he waited to see what her next move would be, but she made none. Thus, he resigned himself to be a human couch, if just for a second. He clasped his hands protectively around her. At his touch, he felt her little body relax. He was amazed that something so small could be so anxious.

They stayed like that until the night air got crisp, and he said, "Ojou, let's go inside. It's getting cold." But the young heir didn't answer. She had fallen asleep safe in Kyou's lap. He heaved a heavy sigh of melancholy, cradling the small child in his arms.

A few minutes passed before he carried her back to her room followed close behind by Fuji whose sedate pace added to the reverent mood. The kumi stopped what they were doing and watched in quiet obeisance. The air of reverence was only broken by the occasional sniveling here and there of several kumi accompanied by a few streams of tears.

Kyou laid her on her bed and was about to leave when the young child stirred. In the penumbra of sleep, where the realm of the conscious and unconscious meet, little Ojou's unfocused eyes tried finding Kyou. She asked in a hoarse whisper, _"When is he coming back??"_

Kyou swallowed past the lump on his throat. Trying not to lose his composure, he managed to say, "Later tonight". He didn't want to explain just yet what an interrogation was, and the cause of it. Also, he didn't want to explain, before it was absolutely necessary, the implications of being accused of something.

He hadn't turned around. The Kuroda child rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she stifled a yawn.

"Is he in jail?" She asked with heavy lids. Kyou turned around to look at the young heir.

"...not _yet_..." He bit his lower lip. With fatherly eyes, he said "Now, go to sleep."

She yawned once more before succumbing to sleep. Kyou took one last look at the young heir and the lump on the floor which he knew to be Fuji, the tosa dog, who had taken to sleeping in Ojou's room or wherever the young heir was. Currently, Fuji was lying on the floor, spread out like a rug. Kyou looked down at him as if to say 'Take care of Ojou'. Fuji's only response was to raise the inner corners of his brows, causing his face to look even more wrinkled, while he shifted his gaze between Kyou and the young Kuroda child. Thereupon Kyou left.

-o-

Meanwhile, the okami were relentless in their interrogation. They were looking for anything that would lead to the ones reponsible. Their gut feeling told them that the Kuroda Kumichou was involved or knew who was involved, but there was nothing to connect him to the one found by the boaters. All they could do was to continue asking questions and hope he'd slip. Of course, breaking the Kuroda Kumichou was like trying to break a coconut with a toy hammer. They didn't care, the okami were only trying to appease the katagi of the lake area without getting too involved with the yakuza.

After a long interrogation, which consisted mostly of a fusillade of questions interweaved with an endless stream of "Don't answer that" by Furukawa-sensei, the Kuroda Boss was let go.

Furukawa-sensei was a serious man with hardly any sense of humor. He would have been a good straight man in a comedy duo. Most jokes went over his head. This could be a little bit unnerving especially among the yakuza whose conversation revolved around throwing innuendos. Regardless of his humor deficiency, Furukawa-sensei was a great lawyer. And, really, that's what you want in a lawyer. Though one wonders if his humorless disposition was adapted to try to remain professional.

He had the bad habit of fidgeting with his glasses when he was trying to address a delicate matter. This was one of those times. The bespectacled lawyer cleared his throat and fidgeted with his glasses on their way to the Kuroda Boss' house.

The Kuroda Boss raised an eyebrow in quiet amusement at the sight of the lawyer's fiddling fingers. He wondered if he had ever broken his glasses due to all that nervous handling. A part of Kuroda wanted to ask what was on the lawyer's mind, but he didn't press the matter.

Furukawa-sensei knew better than to ask blunt questions but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to know if there was any credence to what the okami had been insinuating. In all the years he'd worked for Kuroda, he hadn't had to defend him from anything as major as this. Frankly, he was a little worried which made the urge to know all the more stronger. He did venture to ask, "Should I be worried?"

As soon as he asked, he regretted it. He only hoped that Kuroda would have the sense to assuage him whether based on truths or lies he didn't care.

The Kuroda Boss smiled and said, "I didn't do anything". Furukawa-sensei sighed in relief. This relief was short-lived as the Kuroda Boss added, "...at least nothing that can be proven", making his smile grow to disturbing proportions.

Furukawa-sensei cringed inwardly. The only thought passing through his head in an endless vicious loop was, _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_. It was better for him not to know how involved his client was in _certain things_.

-o-

Back in the house, the Kumichou was greeted with warm welcomes. They wanted to know how the interrogation went. They knew that they were not out of the woods yet. The Kuroda Kumichou and any of his men could be called back to be interrogated further. If anything happened Furukawa-sensei would definitely have his work cut out for him. Still, they managed to keep a light atmosphere. It wasn't the first time any of them had problems with the law, and surely it wouldn't be the last time. Nevertheless, this didn't come at the best time.

The Inubou-Kumichou had announced he'd drop by the next day. His son had been injured by a rival kumi. Word on the street was that the meeting place had been leaked by a Kuroda kumi. Needless to say the Inubou Kumichou was coming to settle the score. Hopefully the Kuroda Boss will not be called by the okami again, so they can settle the matter without any bloodshed.

He wandered into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. This was when he was informed of Ojou's touching vigil. He pressed his lips into a tight, thin line as he thought of the conversation he'd need to have with her about interrogations and jail and the whole dance in between.

He went to Ojou's room and opened the door enough to peer through it. The tosa dog woke at the sound. The grandfather saw the young child curled up in a ball, and Fuji stretched out on the bed beside her with his head slightly raised in the direction of the door, his wagging tail hitting the blanket in muffled thuds. He smiled tenderly at the sight, and closed the door gingerly behind him. _'Tomorrow I'll think about what to tell her'_, he thought as he went to bed. The tosa dog, as if knowing that the child will be fine, jumped down the bed and lay on the floor.

A few hours later, the young heir woke up. Ojou had slept fitfully as thoughts of her grandfather invaded her dreams. She felt absently around the bed for Fuji but couldn't feel him. Alarmed, she propped herself up to look for him only to find him on the floor looking at her, his head tilted to the left. She checked the clock on the nightstand, it read 3:00AM. Gently, she climbed down her bed and tiptoed to her grandfather's bedroom followed closely by one tosa dog. The only sound heard around the house was the soft clicking of the tosa dog's nails as they hit the hardwood floor with each step.

She stopped at her grandfather's bedroom door. Her hand hovered at the doorknob. She mentally prepared herself in case he wasn't there. Inhaling deeply she opened the door slowly only to see her grandfather sleeping form lying on his side, his back facing the door. She smiled and went inside the room. She clambered onto the bed and scooted against her grandfather's body. The warmth radiating from his body was a source of comfort to the young Kuroda child who leaned her ear on his back and felt herself start to drift to sleep soothed by the sound of the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Fuji waited until she'd positioned herself before he jumped on the bed and leaned against Ojou's legs.

The following morning Ojou woke up to an empty bed. Believing she may have been dreaming, though the fact that she was in her grandfather's room attested to the contrary, she ran to the dining room. The tosa dog dashed off after the young Kuroda heir. She found her grandfather drinking some tea while he read the paper.

"Good morning, Ojou". He gave her a small smile.

"Good morning, grandpa". She said between breaths, as formally as she could manage. Fuji's tongue lolled out as he sat down and looked alternately between the young child and his master. She didn't say anything else but a grin escaped her lips as she ran upstairs to get ready for school.

Unfortunately, when she came back from school, she found her grandfather had been taken again by the okami, and the Inubou Kumichou was talking with Tsuji in agitated tones.

Of course, our young heir took this as her cue. After all, she was _'the one and only blood family of Kuroda Ryuuichirou'_. It was up to her to take charge in her grandfather's absence.

A heated interaction followed. A loud, low-pitched growl alternated with an equally loud high-pitched one. This low and high pitch _song _was later overlapped by a murmur of confusion coming from the Kuroda kumi. A loud cry of "BLOOD!! BLOOD! Lotsa blood!!!!" coming from Kyou's tear stricken face was immediately followed by hurried steps. A throaty laugh interrupted the commotion mingled with a few snivels. The grand finale of this saga consisted of four running kumi, one with tears streaming down his face. The latter carrying a young child with a heavily bandaged hand. Far behind the Inubou Kumichou looked on alongside Tsuji, the Kuroda father figure.

* * *

_Acclaratory Note_:  
The part about the Inubou clan is the only part in this story that is not mine. It deals with Ojou saving Tsuji's pinky. A very abstract synopsis of this story is given in the last two paragraphs. Please read the manga for this. However, my take on what happens after this incident will be touched on the first chapter for age 9 in a flashback, I think... maybe... _ahem_... we'll see... Hopefully with another synopsis that will elucidate a bit more on the 'saving Tsuji's pinky' incident. In the meantime, there is one more chapter for age 8 after this one. 

_**A/N**_:  
1) I know it seems to end a little weird, but I only wanted to hint at the incident (Tsuji's pinky) and not actually go over it. I thought it would be an interesting way of ending the chapter. I like it but who knows what you guys think.  
2) Once it was clear in my mind what the mood of this chapter should be, I enjoyed writing it. I am actually pleased. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
3) In case you didn't like this semi-sweet mood, the next chapter will be more on the silly side. Read my profile for estimated update time.


	10. The Sleeper

_**A/N**_:  
1.This chapter was solely made for the purpose of explaining the reason behind the drawing that Kyou showed Shin in the manga, though the drawing is mostly mentioned in passing in this story as well. Puts head down in shame.  
2.This is my longest chapter yet, but it couldn't be helped. I try to keep the word count between 3500-4500 but this time... shrugs

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**The Sleeper** _(age 8)_

A few months had passed since the first time she saw the okami gracing the steps of the Kuroda house. It was Takuyu Nomura's first case as a newly appointed Detective Officer. He was young and idealistic about the world, as most young people tend to be. His aggressive naiveté had him cursing the fact that the case was being filed as an unsolved crime.

He viewed it as a personal failure that he was not able to get any new leads or evidence. Detective Lieutenant, Shoutarou Sawada, put a rein on his overzealous subordinate explaining that one can not arrest people willy nilly, and even when one knew someone had inside information that would help the case, one can not force them to relinquish the information. _Not so gentle prodding_ was allowed, but any further than that and one would be crossing a very hazy line that could result in suspension or dismissal.

Nomura grudgingly deferred to his superior's judgement. Detective Lieutenant Sawada was tacitly respected due in no small part to the fast pace at which he rose through the ranks, which had everyone labeling him as anything short of brilliant. Then again, it was no secret that he was vying for the position of chief of police, but that is another story all together.

Nevertheless, this incident plus the one with the Inubou Kumichou had marked a very crucial time in the young Kuroda child's life.

The seed of what yakuza life was like, the good and the bad, had been planted only to germinate years later in delayed revelations and unhurried contemplations. But for now, it lay forgotten, dormant. Her awakening postponed by half-truths given to her by the kumi, not in order to deceive but because they didn't think her young mind could process the information. So, like an infant, she was spoonfed the bitter realities of yakuza life.

In the midst of her confused mind, the only truth the young heir could understand, and was certain of, was her parents' last warning, which her grandfather had echoed: every action has consequences. Moreover, these consequences spread beyond the person performing these actions. And it was this particular clause that had her examining her actions, and those of the ones around her, closely.

The consequences of her grandfather's actions, which she could not get a straight answer from the kumi, had earned him unwanted interest from the okami and plenty of headaches for Furukawa-jiisan. Though as far as the yakuza was concerned, it had raised the Kuroda Kumichou's reputation, as well as the clan's reputation.

Meanwhile, the scene with the Inubou Boss had been a delicate situation which had been handled unconventionally, though not by choice. As far as yakuza politics were concerned, the consequences of her actions had helped the clan and averted a yakuza war, thus inadvertently gaining her renown amongst the yakuza... not bad for an 8 year old girl.

Thankfully, these events clustered together near the end of the young heir's second to last quarter. The Kuroda clan seemed to enjoy these breaks more than the young heir herself. School breaks meant the Kuroda Kumichou and his men would not have to keep a wary eye on the energetic child as they tried to figure out ways of keeping her in school.

Of course, this particular school break had an added advantage. Unencumbered by her propensity to get herself into situations that threatened her academic career, it allowed them to focus their whole attention on the young heir's recovery. It was this self-inflicted injury which had halted the progress of Kyou's training sessions until the time when she regained full motion of her pinky.

The grandfather was amused at her fascination with her newly formed scar. He watched discreetly as she spent hours looking proudly at the fibrous tissue that stretched around her left pinky like a small half-ring.

The granddaughter wasn't the only one rivetted by the injury. The Kuroda men, particularly those who had lost a pinky or two, watched with eager curiosity the long hours spent by the young heir while she underwent physical therapy. Maybe it was empathy or admiration that prompted the Kuroda men to swamp Tsuji with requests of a detailed account of Ojou's heroic act.

Tsuji reveled in the attention, and with a hand motion, gestured for the young Kuroda heir to come. Thus, it became commonplace to see the young child sitting on his lap as an avid audience waited for them to recount the story. At the end, it always ended with Tsuji saying 'show 'em the scar, show 'em the scar', and she always raised a left pinky in triumph amidst the kumi's oohs and aahs.

But good things must come to an end, and it was time for our young heir to go back to school. Thus, this is where we find her on the first day of the last quarter of her 3rd grade, 15 minutes before the bell rang to begin the school day.

"Wish the break had been longer..." Yoshiro's crestfallen demeanor appeared more pronounced by his perennially sad-looking eyes. He turned to look at Ojou who was slouching lazily against a tree as she watched the other children say their final goodbyes to their parents before looking for their respective friends while others tried to sneak in a small game before the begining of the school day.

"Yep, ain't it always like that" Ojou responded as if her 3 and 3/4 years in school counted as a mountain of experience, but since she was talking to another 8 year old, the whole irony was totally lost on the two children who continued their conversation.

"You know what Ms. Ishikawa is gonna do, Kumichou?" Yoshiro looked at the young heir.

"Yeah, yeah. The infamous report on What You Did During The Break. Seriously, she should just give it up."

"...like she gave up on Show And Tell?" Ojou nodded absently. "You know she nixed Show And Tell because of your last report." Ojou looked slightly nonplussed at first but regained her composure quickly.

"Puh -lease, it was only a butter knife. I wanted to bring a _kaiken _but grandpa wouldn't let me." The boy laughed.

"Actually it wasn't what you brought but the report itself. Didn't you notice she got as white as a sheet?" He smirked as he recalled the report.

Ms Ishikawa had always reacted in some way to Ojou's Show and Tell reports. He hadn't noticed this until one time when, from the peripheral of his vision, he noticed Ms. Ishikawa nervously wringing her hands. He'd wondered if anyone else had noticed. A quick scan around the room confirmed that they hadn't. The reason for this, he noticed, was that most people paid an inordinate amount of attention to his friend's report. He had to admit her reports were most unusual though, being as he and his classmates were used to Ojou, not surprising.

"I was just using the butter knife to show how to conceal a _kaiken_. It wasn't like I tried to show people how to use the _kaiken_." A whiff of annoyance evident in her attitude. "Besides... didn't I just say grandpa didn't let me bring the _kaiken_?!".

"Fine, fine..." He said between chuckles as he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Anyway, having to write the essay is not that bad. At least we don't get any work for that period."

"Pittance for what we have to endure. I'd rather she just give us a longer recess if she's not gonna teach."

"Kumichou, you really have a temper!"

She lowered her gaze in brooding silence. She'd been told that by her mother one too many times. She always disagreed with such assessment.

She changed the subject, deciding that it was pointless to dwell on those thoughts at the moment. "So, what did you do during the break? I tried dropping by but your neighbor told me you guys had left." She sat on a nearby bench and took out a piece of paper.

"Yeah, we went to Hokkaido to visit some family. Nothing really exciting." He sat beside her. "I'm just gonna improvise." He peered over her shoulder to see what she was up to.

"Why? It's not like she's grading us for the essay!" She stopped her drawing and regarded him with interest. He leaned back to consider her question.

"It just sounds too boring to say I went to visit family. Besides nothing really exciting happened. What am I going to say, that I spent the entire time avoiding my aunt Miyabi because she kept wanting to squeeze my cheeks? And don't even get me started on my grandma!" He looked away, discomfited.

"What could she possibly do that is so horrible?" She asked in undisguised disbelief. Yoshiro's only answer to that question was a small shudder that unconsciously escaped him. His grandmother's constant teasing about how she saw his _willy _when he was a baby and that it was about as big as the tip of her finger was at best embarrassing. But, it was her asking how much had it grown now and having the rest of his aunts cackling that was mortifying. Of course, he wasn't the only one subjected to such twitting. His sister, Meiko, had endured ribbing as well, except hers concerned her growing breasts and an Aunt Flo which he had never met.

According to their teasing, he'd gathered that Aunt Flo only visited _them _like if they were part of some sort of secret society or something. Knowing how _Kumichou _loved mysteries, he made a mental note to talk to the young heir about this elusive aunt some time in the future.

In reality their relatives' proclivity to this particular kind of twitting was as close to cooing nonsense as they could get. Not unlike how some adults tell their infants in the most shrill squeaky voices, "I'm gonna eat you! I'm gonna eat you!". Yet no one bats an eye or calls social services. These cannibalistic threats lie virtually ignored. Apparently it is the shrill squeak that neutralizes the _threat_, although a soothing voice works as well as evidenced by the rock-a-bye baby lullaby. The nightmarish account of _baby _rocking precariously on a branch which eventually breaks dooming _baby _to what logic dictates to be a fatal fall, is apparently annulled by the soothing notes. The point being that some adults have a sick sense of humor, this writer included.

In the meantime, Yoshiro had thought about asking Meiko herself what was the deal with Aunt Flo, but decided against it. It was an unspoken agreement between the siblings to deliberately ignore the playful twitting to which their family subjected them. In an odd sort of way it had brought them closer together. Consequently, this had clearly confirmed it to him, the women on his mom's side of the family were twisted... just really _really _twisted.

"Hn..." He finally responded. Ojou having been living in the yakuza for a bit now understood that 'Hn', though not a word that could be found in the dictionary, in itself was meaningful enough. Within this context it just meant 'I'd rather not talk about it'. Thus, Ojou went back to her drawing.

Yoshiro studied his friend in companionable silence. He tried brushing his long bangs away from his face when a ball whizzed by them. He looked in the direction the ball came only to see a group of children waiting for the ball a few yards away. Yoshiro stood to pick it up and threw it back at them. They waved their thanks at him and went back to their game. He sat back down again and looked at the young heir. His long bangs draping over his sad looking eyes once again.

"You didn't mention what you did during your break, Kumichou" Yoshiro broke the silence.

"Well, I went to Kamiyama Shrine's Ball Catching Contest." She showed him the drawing she had been working on. He placed it in his hands and looked at it confused.

"It looks like a bunch of dead men in diapers." He said wrinkling his nose.

"What are ya talkin' bout?! This is Japanese tradition. _Men_ wear fundoshis!" She glared at Yoshiro who scratched the back of his head.

"They still look dead." He grimaced.

"Fine! So, I'm no Kaii Higashiyama" The young Kuroda heir snatched her badly drawned picture and pouted. Yoshiro leaned towards Ojou to look at the drawing curiously.

"What's with the flowers on the bottom? I think that's what makes them look a lil' bit dead." Ojou rolled her eyes.

"You've never seen a dead body before so how would ya know?" She looked at her own creation thinking of the kumi that had been her inspiration.

"You know? For someone that hates doing the stupid essays on What You Did During The Break, you sure are putting a lot of effort into it." He pointed at the supposed drawing of men. Not to mention they were supposed to do it in class.

"Well, it can get pretty boring. I just basically tune out when other people are talking about their break. If I hear one more time about Eiichi's trip to Hawaii and him snorkeling in Upaukaliki island or whatever the heck the island's called, I'm gonna barf. Heck, if I could, I would tune myself out!" Yoshiro nodded at this. Eiichi was definitely a bit of a bragger. He was also good in sports which made him the golden boy of the school. This, of course, made him a bit of a snob.

"So, what does this drawing has to do with Kamiyama Shrine's Ball Catching Contest?" He said ticking each word off on his fingers to emphasize its length.

Ojou ignored that and answered, "Men wear fundoshis to participate in the festival. The idea is to grab the golden ball hanging off the sacred tree. You basically run while fighting the other competitors who will try to pull you down and kick you so they can get to the golden ball first. Whoever snatches the ball first is the Golden Man." She grinned when she said that as she put her little fists on her waist and puffed her chest in a superhero pose _à la superman_. And if this had been a sitcom you would probably hear the fanfare now.

Yoshiro smirked at Ojou's pose and said, "It's always about fighting with you."

"Not always." She complained. "It's just that sometimes you have no other choice but to fight in order to defend yourself." She added, "It's a matter of survival". She thought about the kidnappers and replayed the moment they'd taken her in her mind. Her fight to free herself from the gold-toothed man. Yoshiro trying to free her as well. It was this one particular moment that stuck in her mind.

_As they stopped to wait for the pedestrian light to turn, a car stopped on the curb. A man, with a Baretta trademark cap pulled down over his forehead, got out and swooped on the children. He attempted to grab Ojou only to be hit in the balls by her bookbag. The man doubled over in pain. She swung around to grab Yoshiro and flee only to collide with another man, capless, and with a gold tooth that sparkled as he smirked. Yoshiro had crouched down. He was doing something to the neck of the prone body, but as he saw Ojou being taken, he swung his bookbag full force on the gold-tooth man's shin._

Yoshiro looked at her quizzically wondering what she was thinking. He waved a hand in front of her face but her attention seemed to be focused on an ant carrying an oversized piece of bread. He gave her a slight nudge sideways.

"What's up?" This brought her back to reality.

"Hmm... There's something I was wondering." He waited for her to continue without making a sound. Ojou turned to face Yoshiro and asked. "What were you trying to do to the neck of that guy that tried to kidnap me?"

He remained silent, his mouth agape, as if he was trying to decide whether he should answer the question or not. The first bell was about to ring and Yoshiro stood up dusting himself off. "Come on let's head to class. I can tell you on the way there."

She stood and skipped around Yoshiro as she said, "OK, spill!"

Reluctantly, he explained, "There is this fighting move my aunt Miyabi taught me, though I have not been able to master it."

"Get outta town! Your aunt showed you a move. That's awesome!" He shrugged a little trying to downplay the whole thing.

"Well, it's called The Sleeper and it is supposed to put your opponent to sleep."

As they entered the room, they took their respective seats.

"Sounds cool!" She said honestly. He was glad she hadn't asked why had his aunt taught him a fighting move.

"The idea, according to Aunt Miyabi, is that you pinch a nerve that causes you to sleep... Hold on... Was that what she said? Maybe it was stopping some chi... could it be blood flow... Nah, I'd say nerve... Yeah, I think" She rolled her eyes as she waited patiently until he finished arguing with himself.

"How much pain do they feel?"

"The other person just passes out. There is no pain and they just wake up like... from a deep sleep." He said trying to remember, as best as he could, what his aunt had said.

"So, do they pass out or do they sleep? I mean, if it's just sleep then you could bring someone out of it just by shaking them so they'd wake up, right?" Yoshiro had not thought about it

"Well, I dunno. I guess it's more of a passing out but when you get up you feel refreshed as if you just woke up."

"You sound like a commercial." Yoshiro stuck his tongue out at her. She grinned. "Then, for how long are they out?"

"If done right they'd be out for hours otherwise it could be minutes... but Aunt Miyabi wasn't very specific about the number of hours." He paused for a few seconds.

"Could you show me this move?" Ojou asked with genuine interest.

"I can't get it to work myself but I can show you what I'm doing." Yoshiro shrugged. "Since you're good with moves, you could probably help me figure out what I'm doing wrong" Ojou nodded.

"Hey, Shoda." Shoda was the boy that sat in front of Ojou. He turned around to look at her. "Do you want to help us with a fighting move? Yoshiro says it doesn't hurt. It just puts you to sleep but we haven't figured out how to do it yet." Shoda nodded. He was ecstatic that the Kumichou had actually talked to him. He had been one of the boys that Jiro used to bully so he was thankful that Jiro's terror had come to an end. The rest of the class watched with curiosity.

Ms. Ishikawa just happened to enter the classroom at this moment. Walking towards her desk she gave one small glance around the classroom in quiet acknowledgement as she laid the books and stacks of paper on her desk. While she waited for the bell to ring, she busied herself with the papers.

Yoshiro who sat beside Ojou, stood up from his chair and poked Shoda on the right side of the back of his neck. Shoda didn't feel anything. Ojou studied carefully the position of the fingers, the location on the back of the neck and the thrusting maneuver. She prepared herself to try The Sleeper on Shoda. She made a mental note to try not to put much force on it, in case it worked, and poked. At that moment, the first bell rang. Ms. Ishikawa gave a quick glance around the classroom. She had intended to turn back to the stack of papers in her hands but happened to see Shoda's head slump forward and before it hit his desk, Ojou leaning forward and holding it. Yoshiro called out. "Shoda?" The boy didn't respond.

Yoshiro and Ojou looked at each other grinning in celebration of the succesfully executed move. The rest of the class was awed. Ms. Ishikawa was aghast. She ran towards Shoda. Thinking the boy was in danger and forgetting she was talking to the young Kuroda heir she said, "What did you _do _to Shoda?" The young heir was surprised that anyone had talked to her in that tone. She looked at Ms. Ishikawa dumbfounded. The rest of the class were stunned as well. And, as if in a relay race, the young heir let go of Shoda's head only to be caught by Ms. Ishikawa who held it as she brushed the strands of hair away from his face. "Shoda... c'mon talk to me. Shoda?" She kept repeating. Ms. Ishikawa looked like she was about to cry.

Ojou finally said, "He's just sleeping." She thought it best not to give Yoshiro's shoddy explanation as to whether he was sleeping or had passed out. Ms. Ishikawa checked his pulse. The regular beatings of his heart attested to Ojou's statement, though she was unable to wake him up. She gently let the head rest on the desk. She then crouched beside Ojou's desk. And, in a low tone, as composed as she could manage, she asked "What did you do _exactly_?"

"Are you sure you wanna know?" Ojou didn't think it was a good idea. If The Sleeper worked on her, since she was squatting down, she might hit her head. However, Ms. Ishikawa kept insisting.

What Ojou didn't understand was that she didn't want to experience what Shoda experienced. She just wanted an explanation of what had happened. Still, at 8 years old, things are usually taken quite literally, and it was the word _exactly _that had thrown off our young heir. After all, how can you _exactly tell _if you don't _exactly do_? So, she looked at Tatsuya, Yoshiro, Rini and Tomiko and motioned them to come. They understood Ojou wanted them to make sure Ms. Ishikawa didn't injure herself in case the move worked.

Ms. Ishikawa looked at the 4 kids flanking her with measured suspicion. But before she could say anything, the late bell rang and she saw Shoda lifting his head woken from his slumber while Ojou said "...get comfortable." Then everything faded to black.

-o-

"I'm home" Kumiko and Yoshiro had arrived at the Kuroda household.

"Ojou, you're early. It is only noon. Shouldn't you be at school?" Kuroda didn't know if he should feel suspicious. After all, he hadn't received a call from either Principal Takeda or Ms. Ishikawa.

"Yeah, we were let out early." That was strange. He couldn't remember any special holiday or anything that merited only half-day of school. But, before he could ask 'why?', he saw the drawing in her hand.

"What's that?" The Boss asked instead.

"Today we were gonna talk about what we did on our break" Yoshiro offered. The kumi didn't know why but it already didn't sound too good. They mentally tried to remember the things she had seen during the break that might be even remotely related to the _family business_. A blanket of dread seemed to spread over the Kuroda men. They'd have to do some damage control if anything was leaked. Someone cursed under their breath but no one knew who. Slowly, cautiously, the Kuroda men started filing towards the living room as if telepathically summoned by some unseen creature. Furukawa-jiisan, the Kuroda lawyer, had remained seated at a small desk in the living room as he trifled with some papers.

"Oookay..." said Kyou a bit concerned. They needed to have a little talk with their Ojou about keeping _Family Business _private

"Well, I had drawn this and was going to use it as visual aid for the essay." They all looked at the badly drawn picture. Remembering what Yoshiro had said earlier, she decided to clarify what she had attempted to depict. "It's a picture of men", she said. They looked at it carefully.

"Hey, Kane! This one looks like you." One kumi said.

"Yeah, it even has the swollen eye." Another kumi added.

"Well, I guess this one must be Yasuo!" Kane said.

"How can you tell?" Yasuo came over to look at the picture.

"The haircut, dude." Kane pointed at the weird looking hair which was surprisingly similar. Yasuo passed four fingers through his hair blushing a little embarrassed.

"She even got you down to the four fingers on your right hand." Kyou chuckled looking at the picture. At that the other kumi looked at it and laughed. Suddenly Kyou's face darkened.

"What's wrong, Kyou?" Wakamatsu said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I-I'm not in the picture." Kyou said a bit slighted.

"Hey, neither am I!" Wakamatsu said a little hurt.

"I didn't get to see you in the fundoshi, remember?" She said gently.

For this festival, the men usually gathered in the yard of the Kuroda house but Kyou and Wakamatsu had to leave early to help with some last minute preparations at the shrine. Once in the festival, an all out brawl had erupted, unrelated to the contest. The Kuroda Boss, wanting to keep the child out of the way, left her at Uomasa-san's house. So, they concluded that she drew a picture of the ones she saw gathered in the yard. That Ojou didn't find the whole thing strange spoke volumes of her. Kyou-san smiled at her feeling a bit mollified.

"So _all _you talked about was the festival?" The grandfather interrupted the kumi's fascination with Ojou's drawing.

"Well... I never got to give the report." Ojou looked sideways trying to find the right place to recount her story. She didn't want to talk about the kidnapping. It seemed to put them in a strange mood. A stale pause hung in the air and the Kuroda Kumichou was bracing for the worse. "Well, Yoshiro was telling me about this new move his aunt taught him."

"Your aunt taught you a move?" A few of the kumi asked in unison. Yoshiro blushed.

"Yeah, she's an acupuncturist." Yoshiro said as way of an explanation hoping they wouldn't ask any further. Yoshiro, however, was out of luck.

"Why did she teach you this move?" The men knew that most relatives, particularly of the female kind, tried to discourage fighting. This new bit of information put the boy in a new light amongst the yakuza men. Yoshiro's blush increased.

"It was after those boys beat me up. Against my parents wishes, my aunt taught me this move, The Sleeper. She said to use it if I need to defend myself. I've tried it, but I haven't been successful."

"So, you showed this move to Ojou on someone?" Wakamatsu asked the boy.

"Yeah, Shoda volunteered so that I could demonstrate on him. If you do it right the person will be out for hours and hours." The Kuroda men had never heard of this but they were interested to hear about a new fighting move.

"Anyway, after Yoshiro tried it on Shoda unsuccessfully, I tried it on Shoda. Since I didn't want him to be out for hours, I tried doing it as softly as I could." Ojou said as Yoshiro nodded.

"Aaaand?" The grandfather was getting impatient.

"He slumped." The Kuroda men were stunned. "It was only for 5 minutes but it was pretty good." She said as a matter of fact.

"Unfortunately, Ms. Ishikawa saw Shoda's body slump and came over quickly demanding the Kumichou tell her what she did to Shoda" A few of the men were puzzled at the mention of the Kumichou but Kyou explained that it was Ojou's nickname at the school. The men smiled approvingly.

"So, I showed her." Ojou shrugged casually.

"You mean... sh-showed her _showed_ her?" Tsuji, the oldest of the Kuroda kumi asked. Ojou nodded. "How l-long was she o-out?"

"Don't know. She's still out." Several of the men slapped their forehead with the palm of their hands. As the murmurs in the room increased to a deafening sound. One kumi was heard praising her natural skills at learning a move so quicky especially after seeing a failed demonstration. "She's got thinking skills" another one said.

"Ssshhhh" Kuroda commanded the men. He shifted his attention to his granddaughter and said "You left Ms. Ishikawa knocked out?"

"No, she's more of... in a deep sleep." Ojou thought it better to put it in that light. Though Yoshiro claims it supposedly puts you to sleep, she wasn't sure if he understood it well himself.

"Yeah, the people experiencing it do not feel any pain and are in no harm", added Yoshiro.

"Hold on a second. If she's been out since classes began, how come you are here at noon?"

"Well, we thought she'd be out for about 5 minutes but then 30 minutes passed and she hadn't woken up. We still thought it might just be a matter of an hour" Yoshiro said.

"The problem was the other kids started getting antsy and running in the classroom and stuff" Ojou said. "So I told them they could play quietly and if Ms. Ishikawa wasn't awake by noon then I would let them go home." The men couldn't believe their Ojou could have that much power over her peers.

"So, when Ms. Ishikawa didn't wake up and the bell rang for lunch, Kumichou let them go in groups creating a distraction so each group could sneak out."

"In groups? W-wait, a distraction?"

"Yeah. You didn't think they were just gonna let us leave just like that?!" She asked with a questioning look. The grandfather's scowl struggling to stay in place.

The Kuroda men silently looked at each other wide-eyed, an unspoken question left in the air. The Kuroda Boss tactfully addressed it. "It is safe to assume you weren't caught". One thing was for her to get caught sneaking out of school. He could deal with that. Another thing was her getting caught in aiding and abetting truancy of a **whole **classroom.

"Of course not!" She was slightly indignant that her grandfather thought she'd be caught. "I'm really good at stealth and distraction." Ojou said as if it was the most natural skill. The Kuroda men let out the breaths that they didn't know they were holding. The grandfather inwardly chuckled. To be able to sneak out a whole class under the teachers' noses without getting caught was monumental, especially for an 8 year old. His granddaughter was definitely a natural leader.

"She had it all organized." Yoshiro bragged. "She let them go on the condition that they had to go straight home. They aren't supposed to go downtown or anything like that."

"And you trust they'll do as you say?" A kumi ventured to ask.

"Of course! I'm the Kumichou." She was surprised at the question. She'd grown used to people listening to her without much question. Especially after the incident with the 10 broken pinkies.

Americans had their middle finger gesture, which means... well... we all know what it means. Japan has the pinky gesture which means a girlfriend. But, in Japan, within this particular elementary school, amongst 10 specific boys the act of the pinky gesture made by a particular Japanese girl meant _I'm watchin' ya. I can still break your fingers_. Her newly scarred pinky taking on an almost prophetic quality as she waved it at the boys. And, she made the gesture often in front of the 10 boys. After all, her grandfather said no breaking or slicing pinkies, he never said anything about threatening. The boys didn't have to know they were empty threats.

A growing murmur erupted as each kumi wanted to know her distraction tactic and how did the groups sneaked out unnoticed while her grandfather and Kyou marveled at her ingenuity. The same kumi that had said it before said it again "She's got thinking skills".

All the praising was interrupted by one particular kumi who said, "Excuse me, but I think we are forgetting about Ms. Ishikawa."

"Yeah, how come it was only a few minutes with the boy but hours with Ms Ishikawa?"

"I tried to accomodate for her height and weight."

"So, you HIT HER HARDER?!" Kyou said without waiting for Ojou to finish explaining.

_"Well, __**hit **__is such a strong word..."_ She muttered thoughtfully.

"Yeah. ...more like poked." Yoshiro corrected.

"poked?" The kumi looked at each other.

"Yeah, like this" And she went towards Furukawa-jiisan who was still sitting at the desk handling some papers completely oblivious to the little story. She walked behind him and poked him with two fingers on the right back side of the neck. Furukawa dropped the papers and slumped. The Kuroda men were impressed.

"Ooooh, that was pretty good." said one kumi.

"It's like the Vulcan Nerve Pinch." Wakamatsu said.

"No, it's the Vulcan Nerve Poke" Kyou marveled.

"It's The Sleeper!", protested Yoshiro.

"The only thing is that it seems so underhanded attacking from behind." Ojou said frowning. The Kuroda men agreed.

"Yeah, it's more of a stealth move if you want to move undetected", another kumi said. The rest of the Kuroda men nodded.

"Maybe you can use it also as a last resort in order to flee." Yoshiro said trying to be helpful.

"Flee?... Boy, men don't flee. They escape leaving a bloody trail behind", said another of the Kuroda men. Yoshiro looked warily at the men. Ojou had not reacted to this statement. At this point Furukawa-jiisan woke up.

"What the hell happened?" Furukawa said a bit dazed.

"Ojou was practicing a sleep inducing move." Furukawa shook his head.

"I really don't want Ojou practicing her fighting moves, sleep inducing or otherwise, on me." The lawyer frowned looking at the hazy mess of papers strewed all over the floor. _'Just when I had finished arranging them in the right order and everything.' _ He sighed in resignation and knelt on the floor carefully gathering the papers so as not to break the glasses that were surely hidden somewhere within the mess.

"It was only the Vulcan Nerve Poke" offered Kyou

"It's the SLEEPER!" Corrected Yoshiro.

_ahem ahem_ The Kuroda Kumichou cleared his throat. Everyone's attention rested on him. "Wakamatsu, Toru, go to the school and make sure Ms. Ishikawa wakes up before the school day is over. If she hasn't woken up by then, bring her here." Wakamatsu and Toru bowed and left.

"Hmm... I wonder..." Ojou pondered. Everyone looked at Ojou.

"What is it?" Kyou said.

"The Sleeper is a move from acupunture so force shouldn't be important" Ojou continued her musings aloud. "Maybe it's in the actual movement of the wrist or fingers." And, without waiting for a go ahead, she ran towards Furukawa-jiisan who was still crouched down looking for his glasses, a stack of papers clutched in his right hand. Unfortunately, the moment he found his glasses, Ojou tapped him softly with a flick of the wrist. Furukawa-jiisan slumped down again, breaking his glasses in the process and sending the papers he had managed to gather sprawling all over the floor once more. The men waited 5... 10... 20 minutes. Furukawa-jiisan didn't wake up.

"Furukawa-sensei is totally out" Dai informed the rest of the kumi. The men huddled around the lying form.

"I wonder how long he'll be out" Tsuji prodded Furukawa-sensei with a foot. This, of course, was followed by scores of feet attempting the same move, as if they were testing a car by kicking its tires, closely followed by approving murmurs.

"Wow, that was hardly any force." Yoshiro said impressed. "Teach me how to do it." At this moment, Kyou had knelt down to pick up Furukawa-sensei. It wouldn't do to have Furukawa in the middle of the living room floor with papers sprawled all over.

_Riiiing_

_'Great. Juuust greeaat! This must be Ms. Ishikawa or worse Principal Takeda.'_ Her grandfather shook his head dejectedly. He looked at the time. School was already out. Chances that they found out about the whole class sneaking out was minimal, or so he hoped. So, all they had to do was keep quiet about the whole truancy thing with the whole class or she'd be expelled.

_Riiiing_

"Just move your fingers like this." _(thud) (thud)_ She had demonstrated on Kyou-san which made him slump dropping Furukawa-jiisan in the process.

_Riiiing_

"Oh" Yoshiro said. Dai approached and Yoshiro tried it on him but it didn't work. The grandfather was busy thinking of a plan and hoping the call was actually Wakamatsu.

_Riiiing_

"Hey! Don't!." Dai glared at Yoshiro putting a protective hand on his neck. Once satisfied that he had scared Yoshiro, he proceeded to move Kyou away from Furukawa-sensei.

"No, more of a tap." The young Kuroda heir ignored Dai's glare as she positioned her fingers. "Like this." _(thud) (thud)_

_Riiiing_

"OJOU, STOP THAT!" She had demonstrated on Dai. And like a domino effect Dai fell on Kyou-san who fell on Furukawa-jiisan making the glasses he still clutched in his hands completely irreparable.

_Riiiing_

"Somebody give me an aspirin, NOW" The Kuroda Kumichou said as he kneaded his temples before he picked up the phone.

* * *

_**A/N**_:  
1. No, the next chapter won't be the phone conversation. I think I have done enough phone calls _for now_.  
2. I do so love messing with Kyou and Furukawa. You will see more of this in one or two more chapters.  
3. I had planned on mentioning all the OCs I have introduced at the end of each age installment but it seems that I keep adding more and more and more OCs. So, if you don't recognize 'em, manga-wise, then they're mine. Again, all names come from _Ninja Warriors_ (male and female competitions) except for a few that came from a website with Japanese baby names.  
4. I defer to Wikipedia's info on the drama as to the first name of Shin's father: Shoutarou. I don't think the manga gave him a first name.  
5. I should probably have done a bit more research on the fake move but one sees it often enough in movies and shows that I thought I could get away with it without giving the explanation they do on these movies or shows.  
6. This is the last chapter for age 8. Next chapter we begin age 9. Woo-Hoo! 

_**A/N2**_:  
_1.kaiken_ - A dagger kept inside the kimono for self-defense. Common among the wives and daughters of samurai but very popular with the Yakuza as they were easy to conceal (As read from "Who Ate The Flying Chair?" and Wikipedia under Aikuchi)  
_2.Kaii Higashiyama_ - Born in Yokohama, Higashiyama graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1931. He was awarded the Japan Art Institute prize in 1956. In 1968 he completed large murals on the New Imperial Palace, and in 1969 he was given the Order of Cultural Merits and designated as a person with cultural merit. In 1975 and in 1980, he completed murals in the Toshodaiji Temple. (As read from Wikipedia) I don't know if this man is as famous as Dali or Picasso but I _try _not to westernize too much unless I am too lazy to do the research.  
_3. jiisan_ - 'old man' or 'grandfather' (term of address)  
4. _Upaukaliki _- Obviously **not **an actual island. My intention is not to offend but to point out Ojou didn't know the name.


	11. Halloween

_**A/N**_:  
_1_. As far as I have read, Japanese people do not go out and trick or treat on Halloween. They have somewhat adopted the holiday and events are performed in which costumes are donned. With that in mind, I wanted to explore Ojou's first Halloween party. Thus, I will be taking_ quite a few liberties _on this particular chapter just bare with me. Thanks also to _WindyLea _for confirming some of the info I found on Halloween in Japan.  
_2_. Keep in mind that the beginning of the story is written to bring a sense of closure to the previous chapter, so she's still 8. Once I start talking about fourth grade and Halloween, she is 9.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

**Halloween**_ (age 9)_

The young Kuroda child got detention. Oh, not for the truancy bit since everyone got away with it for lack of concrete proof. It was the use of _the move _that had landed her in detention.

Ms Ishikawa was aware that it had been a misunderstanding, and though she felt slightly responsible for the incident, she had discussed it with the Kuroda Boss who'd agreed that little Ojou was growing up and she needed to bear the consequences of her actions. As the Kuroda Boss put it, "You only beat up someone to defend yourself or defend someone else". It wasn't quite the endorsement Ms. Ishikawa had hoped for, but she just took what she could get where he was concerned.

Based on the ambiguous nature of Ojou's offense, she only received three days of detention. On the plus side, these detentions were to be served during lunch. Pretty good for someone who'd knocked out her teacher and gotten the whole class a free day from school. Then again, it had been unintentional.

Principal Takeda was not privy to the real reason for these detentions. Ms. Ishikawa had found Principal Takeda to be a very nervous man around the yakuza. Sometimes she wondered if the rambunctious Kuroda child would one day give Principal Takeda a massive heart attack. For this reason, the official report stated that Kumiko Yamaguchi was getting three detentions for _talking in class_. Thus, Ojou spent her lunch break with Ms. Ishikawa.

They ate their lunch together and she asked the young heir to write an essay on why she was given detention and what she could have done to prevent it. Ojou, being 8 going on 9, could not understand what she'd done wrong. She tapped her pencil against her lips as she thought about it. After a few seconds, she scribbled down that she must be in detention because she followed orders and maybe next time she shouldn't listen to the teacher. Short, succinct and to the point.

Ms Ishikawa, used by now to the young heir's no-nonsense nature, just exhaled loudly and tried to explain the difference between asking for an explanation and asking for a demonstration. She also explained how to judge between what one should and shouldn't do. Afterwards, Ms Ishikawa asked her to re-write the essay.

Ojou scratched her cheek with her pencil's eraser before writing that she'd gotten detention for misunderstanding the teacher, though she quickly added that the teacher misunderstood her and should get some sort of punishment as well because she tried explaining that it wasn't a good idea to show her _the move_, but the teacher wouldn't listen.

Ms. Ishikawa responded with a shake of the head while she tried once again to explain, whereupon she asked the young heir to re-write the essay. Unfortunately, this was neither the last re-write she'd ask nor the last explanation she'd give during that lunch detention.

This lather, rinse, repeat phenomenon went on with no apparent end in sight. Somewhere between a lather and a repeat, the young heir wrote that she had gotten detention because of semantics, but in her defense, she was never very good with grammar anyway.

Ms. Ishikawa looked at the paper in silence wrestling with her teacher's instinct to explain the difference between semantics and grammar. After a few minutes of mental wrangling, she decided against it. She reasoned the young heir didn't need more distractions to the task at hand. Scrunching up the paper, she instead explained once more about demonstrations vs explanations and about thinking before acting, whereupon she asked Ojou to try again.

Ms Ishikawa's patience was wearing thinner with each failed attempt. And as each rejected essay was crumpled up and haphazardly tossed in the overflowing trashcan only to roll off onto the floor and scatter, Ms. Ishikawa's weariness grew deeper. She looked haggard, beaten-down even. She felt old beyond her years. It would take months before the teacher could see the hilarity in the situation. For now, her waning patience only made her feel as if she were the one getting detention.

Nevertheless, teacher and student obstinately pressed on, continuing this endless loop as best as they could. The student did so out of respect for her teacher. The teacher did so out of the need teachers have to... well... teach. That is until the young heir, who was getting increasingly frustrated, said, "Just tell me what you want me to write and I'll write it", thereby magically breaking the recursive loop. The young child's suggestion was tempting, but her teacher's instinct admonished against it. Something about lessons learned and the nature of the child's offense... However, her teacher's instincts were bound and gagged by a worn-down Ms. Ishikawa, who having reached the end of her tether, lowered Ojou's detentions from three to just one _sans _essay. Ojou just shrugged the whole thing off as having been let go for good behavior._ 'Sometimes the consequences of your actions, can be good'_, the young heir thought without malice.

Throughout it all, the young heir took it in stride that the truancy incident had been all but ignored. What Ojou didn't know was that the Kuroda Boss had talked to her classmates' parents as he made sure the children were safe. Omitted was the fact that the mass exodus was thanks to his granddaughter. A simple explanation that Ms. Ishikawa was ill and the children were left under his care, by the school, was faced with stunned expressions from the parents, who were too intimidated by the Kuroda Boss to ask for any further details. This, of course, prompted the parents to ask their children about the incident, like spies trying to uncover classified information, to no avail. The children, trying to protect their _Kumichou_, seemed to have cohesively banded together in this small cover up.

And that was the end of Ojou's 3rd grade. The group got closer together and Ms. Ishikawa was informed by Principal Takeda to take the necessary steps to get certified to teach grades 4 to 6. This left Ms. Ishikawa with a sense of impending doom which she quickly stuffed in the far back corners of her mind somewhere beside her bound and gagged teacher's instincts.

-o-

Fourth grade found the whole class together again in Ms. Ishikawa's classroom. Their newfound camaraderie had Yoshiro planning a Halloween party. The whole class was invited and though the children still distanced themselves from the young heir, this distance had been significantly reduced after the truancy incident. And, though she wasn't aware of her isolation, she was aware _something _had changed. This change, whatever _it_ was, made her life more bearable.

The children in Ojou's class were excited about the party. They weren't the only ones. The Kuroda Boss himself was thrilled to no end. Yoshiro was Ojou's friend, but this party would be a great opportunity for Ojou to actually make some friends of the female persuasion.

"So, what are you going to dress up as?" The grandfather asked.

"I was thinking I would dress up as one of the kumi." She said excitedly. "I can get a gun and everything." The gun was really the reason why the young heir wanted to dress up as a kumi, not because of what it could do, but because the gun made her feel like a grown up, much like how a toy cell phone does to some children.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ojou." The Boss frowned slightly.

"Why not?"

"You're too young to be carrying guns." He remembered the conversation they had with Ms. Ishikawa after the gun maintenance incident. Right now she was at the mercy of her classmate's parents and their overprotective nature. Once she was older, she could handle the responsibility of carrying a gun. The rest of the kumi nodded at the Boss' words. They had heard from Wakamatsu and Kyou of the conversation Ms. Ishikawa had with the Boss.

"It'll be unloaded?!" She whined.

"What about if you dress up as a kumi but without the gun?" Her grandfather suggested ignoring her whining.

"But then I'll just be some dude with a funky shiny suit, pointy-toed shoes, sunglasses and greasy hair!" Ojou said pouting. This revelation had been an open secret to everyone but the kumi, who were genuinely taken aback by such pronouncement. Cautiously, they stole a glance or two around the room as if to check who else fit Ojou's description.

"G-g-greasy hair?" Kyou said slightly hurt. "I-it's just pomade. My h-hair tends to be a little... unruly." Kyou added with eyes downcast.

"Don't worry about it." Tsuji, the father figure of the Kuroda kumi, said putting an arm over Kyou's shoulders. "It looks good." He slid a hand on Kyou's slick 'do. "At least you have luscious hair to put pomade on. Look at me... I'm almost completely bald!" Tsuji's hand, now greasy from Kyou's excessive use of pomade, was running through his bald head giving the bald spot a shiny gloss. "When you get as old as me, the only hairs that grow without falling are in your ears and nose. You can't put pomade there. And nobody says, 'You have such beautiful ear hairs or nose hairs.' All it does is make you look old and gross." Kyou stopped sniveling and examined Tsuji's ear and nose hairs with open curiousity.

Meanwhile Wakamatsu tried to hide his wounded pride as he asked, "D-do ya think my suit is f-funky?" He worried that Chie, his fiancée of one year, saw him the same way. He was feeling a little insecure especially since Chie had a bout of cold-feet just recently. Miho-san had calmed her down, and in the process calmed Wakamatsu as well, explaining that it was normal for some brides to feel this way as the nuptials loomed closer.

"Well... the color is... a little out there..." Wakamatsu looked away deeply hurt at Dai's remark. Seeing this, Dai quickly added, "But I think you pull it off well." Dai put on a sympathetic smile. Wakamatsu turned to look at Dai feeling slightly mollified.

"I-it 's all the rage in Italy, you know?" Wakamatsu added with a quick look at his colorful suit as if to vindicate himself while several of the kumi sniveled as they tried to nurse their bruised egos. The Kuroda Kumichou rolled his eyes and breathed out a loooong heavy sigh.

"Well, let's just try to think of another costume." The grandfather gave her a patient smile.

"Hmm. If I can't be a kumi then I guess I'll be an okami."

_**(cough)(gasp)(ga(cough)gh)(cou(gasp)(cough)ugh)(gasp)(cough)sp)(gasp)**_

Gasps and coughs collided like a multi-car chain-reaction crash as all eyes rested on the young child. If Dai and Toru hadn't been there to hold him up, Tsuji would have fallen right there and then.

Her mind had been fixated on the gun.

"No, I don't think so." Kyou-san said adamantly. The rest of the kumi were unable to utter a sound at the _blasphemy_ coming from their Ojou's mouth.

"We need to get you something else." The Kuroda Kumichou said as calmly as he could manage while ignoring his twitching left eye.

"What about a pirate? Then I can wear the kata-"

"**NO!!**" She never finished saying katana before hearing the Kuroda men's strong objection. She was confounded by their strong disapproval.

"Fine..." She paced around the room while she thought of another costume. There didn't seem to be a pattern in their objections. All she could come up with was that the kumi were afraid her costume might offend. So, she came up with the only costume that couldn't possibly offend anyone.

"What about a corpse?" ...at least anyone that was alive...

"Then I can have scars and bullet holes and gashes..." She said pretending to slash herself with some imaginary knife. The Kuroda men shuddered. The kumi didn't like the idea of seeing all the men they had _disposed off_ epitomized in their own Ojou...

**"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"** The Kuroda men said in unison. Ojou couldn't understand why everything she suggested was being turned down.

"B-but", the young heir protested.

**"No!!"** Ojou knew better than to go against the kumi when they were this adamant.

"Well, then a butcher..." She had run out of ideas, and in her frustration, she blurted the first thing that came to her mind. She thought it, she said it, there was no going back on her word if they accepted the costume. Thus, she tried looking on the bright side of dressing up as a butcher while she waited for another resounding no, but it never came. When she didn't hear any objection, she added "Great! ...then I can get the butcher kni-"

"**NO!**" The Kuroda men started to wonder what was up with their Ojou and all the weapon carrying fascination.

"Well, fiiiine! I won't go to the stupid party!" She said not knowing the rhyme or reason to their objections. Frustrated, she stomped out of the room and into her bedroom. Her little feet making as much noise as she could. The Kuroda men went towards their Ojou's room as if herded when the grandfather stopped them. He knocked on the door of her room, eventhough it was opened. Ojou's annoyance was evidenced by the look she gave him: a look that said **'What?!'** The grandfather was amused by Ojou's reaction. The only indication of this was a flare of his nostrils as he stifled a chuckle.

"Ojou, what's wrong?" The grandfather stepped inside her room and sat on the edge of the bed. The rest of the Kuroda men stayed by the door.

"I just want a good costume." She said as she turned her attention towards the ceiling. Her little arms held on tightly to one of the pillows.

"I know but the ones you picked are a bit dangerous with all the weapon carrying and stuff. You don't want people to be scared of you."

"But that _is _the point of dressing up for Halloween!" She leaned on her elbows as she turned to look at her grandfather with a look that children had used on adults since times immemorable: the look that said 'You really don't know _anything'_. Unbeknownst to him, this look was a small preview of Ojou's adolescent years.

"Well, she does have a point." Kyou said without thinking from the door of Ojou's room. The Kuroda Kumichou turned his head to glare at Kyou. Tsuji slapped him in the back of the head. The Boss regained his composure and turned his attention back to the child before him.

"What I mean is that your school friends are going to be there and if their parents find out you had a real gun or any other kind of real weapon, they might not like you playing with them."

_"Hmm... I guess"_, she grumbled

"Tell, you what. Let's go to the costume shop and if they have fake katanas or guns or knives then we can buy one and you can be the kumi or the pirate or whatever..." The grandfather said, conceding to at least a fake plastic weapon.

A voice by the door hollered, "NO OKAMI COSTUME!", followed by some mutterings and another voice yelling, "OR CORPSES!!", followed by a few definite 'yeahs'.

-o-

The Kuroda kumi had grown very protective of the young heir in a short amount of time. The fact that the kumi weren't one to embrace change that easily made this protectiveness even more perplexing. It took time and preparation for them to welcome change. It came as no surprised that the arrival of the Boss' daughter, Yuriko, had been received without so much as a ripple in the everyday yakuza life of the Kuroda kumi. After all, they had 9 months to get ready for that mass of flesh that seemed to mostly sleep, eat, poop, pee and cry. It also helped that the Boss' wife kept her out of yakuza's way. Consequently, they got used to Yuriko, and being the Boss' daughter, she had earned their loyalty by proxy. With Ojou, things had been unequivocally different.

They didn't get any time period to get ready for Ojou's arrival. One minute they were all men worrying about men things and the next they were told that their Boss was the only family of an orphaned child. There was no doubt in their mind that the Boss was gonna take her in... and then what? Needless to say the introduction of the young child into the ranks of the Kuroda household had unleashed pandemonium amongst the kumi.

All of a sudden a whole person, albeit of the miniature variety, was staring them in the face. They had expected her to hide somewhere until she got used to them but Ojou wasn't your average child. Faced with a line of kumi waiting to greet her on that fateful first day, she went to each one of them and gave them a small bow. She even went as far as to trace the scars of the more disfigured ones, curiosity being the driving force behind this action. There was no _eeew _factor involved, no apprehension, no shock or disgust. It was this oddity that led the kumi to drop by and give curious looks at her.

They were accepted as they were which was new to the kumi, and though they wouldn't admit it aloud, they liked the feeling. Even their short fuses and propensity to raise their voices when they spoke was met by an eerily calm Ojou. Their posturing and bull-like snorts went completely ignored. Pretty disarming and a little creepy for a small child.

Maybe it was her willingness to accept that crusty exterior they armed themselves with and her ability to look deep, deep, _deep_ inside for that creamy yummy filling that had earned her the unconditional loyalty of the Kuroda men, or maybe it was the fact that the young heir herself was a bit on the crusty side with a bit of the yummy middle which had earned her their loyalty. It really didn't matter how it came to be. The point was that their blind loyalty had them giving in to the child's every wish, no matter how unreasonable.

It was this loyalty that was going to be tested in the ninth year of her life.

-o-

On Oct 29th, at a store which was part costume shop part convenience store, outside the Kamiyama area, a child followed by five kumi browsed through the remaining costumes left on the racks.

The owner of the store, Hideki Matsuzaka, eyed the group with cloaked curiosity. He recognized the Kuroda Boss and his men. Initially, he wasn't sure what to make of it. The Kuroda clan weren't known for coercing establishments to pay for their protection. Considering his establishment was outside their territory, he worried that they might be trying to expand their territory starting with his store. This thought was quickly dismissed. The Kuroda clan weren't known to be napoleonic in nature which left Hideki Matsuzaka puzzled as to the reason for their presence. It wasn't until he saw the young heir weaving through the racks that he relaxed, though he still kept close watch on the out-of-place group.

After twenty minutes of rummaging, the men and the young heir could not believe their bad luck. All the good costumes had been taken and only frilly stuff were left with the exception of a few animal suits.

"I'm not gonna wear any of those stupid costumes." The young heir warned.

"Oh, c'mon. These are fine." Kyou-san feigned enthusiasm as he held up an angel costume.

"What d'ya think I am, three?" Ojou harrumphed as she scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Well, Ojou, it's not a matter of being old or young. It's just that they're the only things left." Kyou tried reasoning with her.

"What about this one?" Offered Dai, holding a costume of a horse suit.

"...a horse suit! hmmpf!" Ojou narrowed her eyes in disapproval. She inspected the peculiar brown color of the costume which only appeared in nature in human waste. Thus, she'd be a mixture between a horse and a human turd...

"Hey! This one's pretty cute..." Wakamatsu said holding up a costume of a fairy with wand and all. Ojou put her little hands on her hips in defiance. Wakamatsu could understand her refusal but tried not to show it. The only thoughts running through his mind at the moment were that he was a kumi, and he shouldn't be picking out girl's costumes. Matsuzaka just looked on in bewildered amusement.

"Ah, Ballerinas. Doncha wanna be a ballerina?" Tsuji held up the costume eyeing it suspiciously. He had never seen anything so pink. Apparently neither had Ojou who folded her arms across her chest in disbelief.

"Ojou, this one's perfect for ya!" The grandfather showed her a costume of a princess with tiara and all. Ojou grimaced at the frilly dress and crown. The grandfather himself would have grimaced but he didn't. He had to _sell_ the frilly costume to the young Kuroda heir. He knew it would be a _tough sell_ though. Hideki-san watched quietly by a corner. As he watched the scene he realized that he was not seeing a yakuza Boss but a grandfather trying to make his granddaughter happy.

"This is hopeless. I'm not gonna go." Ojou headed towards the door of the store trailed by five kumi who pleaded with the young heir to just pick one costume.

Seeing the young child's discouraged face and the kumi's lack of enthusiasm, Matsuzaka said, "You can always be a young doctor." He showed the costume to the child.

"That's a good idea", said Wakamatsu.

"Yep, not frilly _and_ not stupid" The grandfather said encouragingly.

"Hmm... but, it ain't even scary or nothing." She scowled.

"It doesn't matter. You just wanna spend time with your friends. Doncha wanna go to Yoshiro's party?" She nodded grudgingly.

"Weeeell?", said the grandfather. All five kumi looked at her expectantly.

"Fine." She caved. The kumi were ecstatic though one wonders if it was more relief at being able to finally leave this establishment. This elation was quickly deflated by Ojou's next words: "...but only if you guys wear... _those_" She thought if she had to wear something she really didn't want to then they'd have to wear something they didn't want to.

"B-but Ojou, none of these are gonna fit us. These are made for little girls!"

"Well, you can just use the props. If you go patrolling with those tomorrow night, I will go to the party dressed as a... doctor." Tsuji was happy that his costume's only props were a tutu and a pair of slippers neither of which would fit him.

Seeing the enormous grin on Tsuji's face, the Kuroda Kumichou asked the store owner if there was any way the tutu would fit his... portly underling. The store owner nodded. Dai tried really hard not to show his glee. His costume had no props. Tsuji noticed this and upset that he would be forced to wear a tutu pointed out to the Kuroda Kumichou that Dai's costume didn't have _any _props. The men looked at the costume and talked to the store owner.

-o-

This is how on the eve of the Halloween of Ojou's 9th year of her life, the Kuroda Boss cancelled all his appointments. His underlings tittered as they looked at their Boss who glowered threateningly at them. His subordinates bowed their heads and cleared their throats to disguise the laughter threatening to erupt at the sight of their leader in a sparkly and very fashionable petite tiara. Ojou, simply not seeing his dejected expression, sat on his lap in awe at the striking contrast between the shiny tiara and her grandfather's black hair which was beginning to dust with silvery strands.

Tsuji, on his part, ended up wearing four tutus tied together around his waist over his pants. His protruding stomach hanged over the tutus making his _pregnant _belly look like an enormous egg laid in a lovely nest of light purple, fuschia and pink tulle.

The Kuroda men may have been wary of their leader but at the sight of Tsuji they hooted and hollered, "Give us a pirouette. Give us a pirouette." His mood lifted slightly when the Kuroda Kumichou, empathizing with his underling, relieved him of his patrolling duty.

Dai and the rest still had to go patrolling. Though Dai felt lucky that all he ended up wearing was a horse's tail. He figured that at least this was more manly than the other costumes. And, things would have gone smoothly for Dai had it not been for the kumi who between roaring laughters proclaimed that Dai was dressed as a _horse's ass_. Their exact words.

Kyou and Wakamatsu, on their part, left before the rest of the kumi saw them. Wakamatsu's reasons were more along the line of not letting Chie see him dressed in a feminine costume. Ever since their engagement, she had been given an open invitation to the Kuroda house by the Kuroda Kumichou himself. The Boss' reason was simple: Ojou's need of a female influence.

Chie had taken him up on his offer and dropped by fairly often looking for Wakamatsu. Her visits were usually accompanied by covert wolfish grins and discreet suggestive wiggling of eyebrows that alluded at Wakamatsu's good luck. Chie was unaware of the kumi's salacious exchanges, but the Kuroda Kumichou saw it, and he was not pleased. He had a talk with his men about being disrespectful to Wakamatsu and his future wife. Afterwards, they tried making amends by falling over themselves to make sure she was comfortable. She was touched by their attentiveness. While she waited for Wakamatsu, she often talked with the young heir.

Kyou's reasons were mostly common sense. He was still just a live-in within the Kuroda clan, so that if anyone was going to be mercilessly teased, chances are that was going to be him. It was hard being in the lowest part of the totem pole though there were talks about shifting winds in power within the Kuroda clan as the Kuroda Boss was said to be considering one of the kumi for the position of chief.

Thus, Kyou and Wakamatsu went patrolling together as if to give each other moral support which didn't make things any simpler for passersby.

Kyou, who had refused to wear the wings from his angel costume, had donned the halo which bobbed around at the slightest movement. This meant that each step he took was accompanied by the erratic bobbing of the white, downy feathery halo. Its telltale spasmodic movement was pointed out by Wakamatsu causing Kyou to carefully monitor his gait to ensure only microquakes were detected by the quasi-seismographic halo. Compound to that the contrast between the white, downy feathery halo, his slow stiff gait and his scarred shady looking face and you have a man giving the illusion of a wolf in lamb's clothing causing people to do a double take when they passed by him. Of course, it didn't help that when Kyou tried to smile politely it turned into a sinister grin from the haloed man making a few of the onlookers yelp at the contrast.

Wakamatsu's attire was no better though a bit more discreet. He'd refused to wear the wings of his fairy costume claiming that if Kyou didn't wear his neither would he. The only prop left for him was the sparkly, tinseled wand. As concealed as he tried to carry it, the tinsel swirled and swayed coquettishly attracting people's attention. And when one unfortunate boy tried taking a closer look at the sparkly wand, Wakamatsu glared at him.

"Whatcha ya lookin' at, _boy_?!" Wakamatsu said as he accidentally pointed with the hand that held the sparkly tinseled wand. The tinsel glinting under the light of the lampost as it swirled in the air. Kyoutarou just nodded menacingly with scowling eyes forgetting about his seismic-detecting halo which was currently detecting a quake measuring at least 8 in the richter-halo-scale as it _bobbity bobbed._ In direct opposition to this movement, the feathery wisps waved in the air in a slow enrapting almost ethereal motion.

-o-

The costume-wearing-kumi had endured the seemingly endless night. They had honored their part of the deal, so that when Halloween day finally came Ojou went to the party dressed as a doctor. That is, not before making slight alterations to the costume.

When the kumi saw their Ojou they looked at each other.

"What?" She said without getting a response.

The Kuroda Boss cocked an eyebrow. A few of the kumi pointed to her coat.

"I just came from surgery!" She said as explanation for the red paint splattered on her white doctor's coat.

". . . . . ." Silence accompanied that response.

Seeing as they weren't saying anything, she took out of her pocket a pair of children's scissors and a butter knife that had both been dipped in some red paint as well. "These are my bloodied tools."

". . . . . ." More silence followed.

"Well, geez! Someone say something!" She demanded. She had been very proud of the _improvements_ she'd made on the costume but no one was saying anything.

"What's with the hair?" Ojou had used some of Kyou's pomade to mess up her hair in spikes.

"I'm a crazy doctor." She said giving a sinister grin that startled a few of the kumi. The Kuroda Kumichou seeing this just shook his head and smirked.

"C'mon crazy doctor!" He placed a hand on the back of her head and gently nudged her to walk towards the front door as he said, "Let's get you to the party." The grandfather, smirk still in place, followed a beaming Ojou in her spiky greasy 'do and her splattered coat while she carried her _bloodied_ tools.

* * *

_**A/N**_:_  
1_. I was a bit lazy about researching detention in Japan. I did do some_ mild _research, emphasis on the _mild_. Though after-school detention was mentioned, during-lunch detention was not. Shrug. It's all good.  
_2_. I dedicate this chapter to my sister who kept asking when I would upload the chapter. Sis' this is for ya! 

_**A/N2**_:  
_1. Sans_ - French for without. I know most people know this but I wanted to make a clear distinction between it and the Japanese honorific _-san_.  
_2. Chie_ - I named Wakamatsu's future wife Chie (her first name). I don't think the manga has a name for her and I didn't see any information on the drama either.  
_3. Hideki Matsuzaka_ - Originally I wasn't planning on naming the shop owner, but since the Red Sox won the ALCS, I named him after the two Japanese baseball players in the Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima). Go Red Sox! Woo-Hoo!


	12. The Mystery Of Aunt Flo

**_A/N_**: If you have read this chapter before you may notice that I made a few changes to this chapter as of 11/26 and 12/12. Nothing major just 4 sentences and 6 words were changed.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is

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**The Mystery Of Aunt Flo **_(age 9)_

_"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."_  
—_The Art of War, Sun Tzu_

Yoshiro's grandmother, aunts and mother were a bit on the crude side. Their rude and crude behavior was more evident when they gathered together in a group. Used to this group dynamic worthy of a group of construction workers, he knew to stay clear of them when things got a bit rowdy. He likened it to self-preservation. One false move and you could end up as food... er... the butt of their jokes. To Yoshiro, it was the cackling which sent a tiny chill prickling down his spine. He figured this must be how prey must feel when eyed by a group of hyenas.

One thing was certain, life amongst the women from his mother's side of the family could be fun... and a little bit dangerous.

It was during these family gatherings that he'd heard about Aunt Flo. As each get-together passed, the mention of this Aunt Flo persisted. He'd gathered his grandmother had a love-hate relationship with said aunt as she would some times talk about her wistfully while other times she seemed to enjoy her daughters' suffering due to Aunt Flo's antics, all the while being grateful Aunt Flo wasn't paying her any visits. Callous maybe but there you have it.

His aunts and his mother often talked about Aunt Flo. Some of the things they said were, 'Aunt Flo's visiting' or 'Aunt Flo came unexpectedly' or 'You must be expecting a visit from Aunt Flo.' It was this last one which had him convinced that his aunts must have some kind of psychic ability to be able to determine who was expecting a visit from Aunt Flo. Either that or Aunt Flo was like alcohol, the mere proximity to her will give you a flushed face. Of course, things could be worse and Aunt Flo could be radioactive.

Just when he thought he had Aunt Flo figured out he heard, 'Do you need some pads before Aunt Flo arrives?' This had him wondering why did Aunt Flo's visit require them to wear padding? Which in turn made his 9 year old mind wonder if Aunt Flo liked to wrestle his aunts. He figured this was the reason why he'd never met her. He didn't feel slighted in the least. An athletic radioactive aunt was not on his list of high priorities. And he comforted himself with the strange suspicion that she was a figment of someone's imagination as she had monthly visited her mother without him or his sister ever seeing her. It wasn't until he was 6 years old that Aunt Flo had payed a visit to his sister Meiko. The small bond they had trying to figure out this elusive family member, which they had never seen, was broken.

Apparently Meiko wasn't too happy about meeting this aunt anyway. So, he wavered between counting his blessings at not having met her and feeling quite annoyed at her for hiding from him. After all, he was her nephew.

He'd asked his father if he'd seen Aunt Flo, to which his father nervously answered, "Never seen her". He'd have taken his answer at face value had his father not been so uncomfortable by his question. This had him pondering what was the mystery behind Aunt Flo. And, it would have all been left in ponderings and musings had he not shared with our young Kuroda heir about the aunt he'd never met.

Now our favorite Kuroda was quite curious by nature. Maybe it was her upbringing or her unhealthy love for mysteries that had her spending so much time and energy on the mystery surrounding the elusive aunt.

"Aunt Flo, huh?" The young heir mused. "Sounds foreign to me. Is this an aunt by marriage?"

"Don't think so. Why d'ya ask that?" Yoshiro was puzzled at the strange question.

"Flo! What kind of name is Flo for a Japanese?" She asked as if she was explaining the most obvious thing. Yoshiro tried to think about his family tree. As far as he knew he was 100 percent Japanese, but who knew for sure?!.

"Maybe it's a nickname" Yoshiro said irritated. "What difference does it make?!"

"Possibly a nickname" The young heir nodded thoughtfully. Her mind trying to resolve something.

"But not understanding an enemy can lead to defeat" The young heir rubbed her chin with her thumb and forefinger. Her eyebrows knitted together. "Understanding your enemy is the key to destroy them." She absently grinded one of her fists into the palm of the other as she gazed at the horizon with narrowed eyes.

"For heaven's sake, we're not trying to destroy Aunt Flo! We just want to find out who she is and know why she hides from me!" Yoshiro was exasperated. He should have known _Kumichou_ would take things out of proportion.

"That's the problem with you. You never get suspicious enough." She admonished him.

"...and you get too suspicious" He retorted. The young heir dismissed his complaints with a wave of the hand as she continued her assessment of Aunt Flo

"So far, we know you've never met her and she is always traveling around." Yoshiro nodded in assertion. "She comes once a month and visits your mom and Meiko which means she's probably a relative from your mom's side." She ticked each statement on her right hand and added, "Your father doesn't get along with your Aunt Flo."

"Why do you say that?" Yoshiro was taken by surprise at Ojou's last statement.

"Your Aunt Flo wouldn't have avoided your father when she came to visit your mom and sister." She said absently, ignoring Yoshiro's surprise.

"That doesn't mean that they don't like each other!" Yoshiro protested.

"Well, it could just mean that Aunt Flo is just an apparition." Yoshiro didn't like the alternative.

"Why d'ya even have to go there?" Yoshiro was not one to be comfortable around ghosts. Ojou, though not comfortable, had a strange fascination with them. Sort of like being in a roller coaster, the thrill was in the danger associated with it.

"It would explain why you haven't seen her and why your dad was so nervous when you asked him about her". Of course, Yoshiro was getting creeped out about the now haunting, possibly foreign, athletic, radioactive aunt.

"Never thought about that. You really think it could be a ghost?" He asked casting worried reluctant glances over his shoulders.

"Nah" The young heir looked around as well and repeated again, "Nah"

"Well, that wasn't very convincing." Yoshiro said feeling a prickling sensation in the back of his neck as he imagined a ghost breathing down his neck.

"No, I'm serious. It is not likely to be a ghost." Ojou sighed at her friend's agitation.

"What makes you say it isn't?" Yoshiro asked still getting the heevie jeevies.

"Simple, it's your dad. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that believes in ghosts. If he thought Aunt Flo was a ghost he would deny the existence of Aunt Flo all together, but he said he's never met her. So, her existence is not in question." She tap a finger on her lips as she said that.

"Then why do you think she doesn't want to meet me?"

"Nobody said she doesn't want to meet you."

She was cut off by an exasperated Yoshiro who said, "Well, everybody's seen her except for me and dad. Plus you said dad hasn't seen her 'cause she doesn't like him. What would you conclude from that?"

"It's just coincidence" She said trying to reassure him. She examined him with dispassionate scrutiny.

"What?" He said nervously under her gaze.

"Nothing!. Just trying to see if there's anything scary or weird about you that would make your aunt hide from you." She said without ill-will.

"Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence!" His statement dripped with sarcasm.

"You asked" She shrugged her shoulders.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

Ojou stood up from her thinking pose and started pacing around the backyard. "Have you talked to your mother about it?"

"Everytime I try talking about Aunt Flo she says 'You'll know when you're older' and quickly changes the subject." He tried to recall the few times he'd tried broaching the subject.

Continuing her pacing, Ojou asked, "How about your father? Have you asked him who she is and why she hasn't met you?"

Yoshiro nodded and said, "He just sighs heavily and runs his hands through his hair while muttering to go ask mom."

Ojou nodded while muttering _"Conspiracy."_

"What conspiracy?"

"A conspiracy to conceal your aunt's whereabouts." She slapped her right fist like a gavel on the open palm of her left.

"Kumichou, you watch too many movies." Yoshiro waved his hand dismissively. Ojou ignored his dismissive tone and grabbed him by the collar and brought him nose to nose. She stealthily scanned the room to make sure no one was listening to what she was about to say lest _they _knew she was onto _them_, whoever _they _were.

_"This is what we should do."_ She took a few more glances around for good measure as she continued whispering her plan. _"We try ganging up on this Aunt Flo. We will innocently ask your parents were she is and then corner her into a room... and then..." _She breathed in his ear as only her eyes darted back and forth around the room. Yoshiro was getting sucked into the supposed web of lies and deceit surrounding his Aunt Flo.

_"...and then...?"_ He whispered expectantly looking around as well hoping their plan had not been discovered. Satisfied that no one was around, Ojou continued her statement.

_"And then we catch her"_ She said putting an arm around Yoshiro's neck as she continued whispering in his ear, _"and__** auntie**__ will have nothing to give us but answers." _She grinned wickedly releasing Yoshiro. Her rogue grin infecting him.

-o-

"Are you sure your aunt is here today?"

"Yep. Meiko said so to my mother."

"OK. Let's go!"

They looked for Yoshiro's father who was currently in the kitchen cooking.

Yoshiro's father would cook on occasion particularly when his wife was late from work. It was something he tried teaching his son. Whoever comes to the house first, cooks. 'A man shouldn't sit on his ass starving waiting for his wife to come home to prepare food especially when she'll come home tired too', his father had told him many times when he'd asked him why he was the one cooking.

"Dad, is Aunt Flo here?" His father almost dropped the chicken he was turning. He straightened up and looked around the room.

"Nope. She's probably with Meiko", he said. Trying to change the subject, he added, "Are you staying for dinner, Kumiko-chan?" He smiled at the young child. Ojou nodded her head. They had envisioned that finding Yoshiro's aunt would take the better part of the night so she'd asked her grandfather permission to eat at Yoshiro's while Yoshiro had asked his mom if it was OK to invite 'Kumichou' over for dinner.

They ran out of the kitchen looking for Meiko leaving a relieved Mr Kashu to continue cooking. Meiko hadn't arrived from school yet so they were out of luck and decided to wait for Meiko and his mom to arrive.

Ten minutes later Yoshiro's mother arrived from work. Smelling the aroma coming from the kitchen, she knew her husband had arrived and was preparing dinner. She dropped her briefcase on the floor and was about to head to the kitchen to greet her husband when the children ran to greet Ms. Kashu. She smiled warmly at them.

"How was school today?"

"Eh, same-o same-o." Yoshiro said. "Already did my homework with Kumichou here." He said proudly.

"You should drop by more often maybe he wouldn't need so many extensions for his homework if you did." Ms Kashu chuckled as she ruffled Ojou's hair. Yoshiro was very smart but a bit lazy about doing homework. She always had to threaten him with taking away some priviledges before he'd start on his homework. It was nice not to have to come home to that particular ordeal.

"Ms. Kashu" Ojou ventured to ask. "Yoshiro was telling me about Aunt Flo. Will she eat dinner with us?" The children studied Ms. Kashu's face which had paled at the question. Squirming a bit and remembering her daughter was being visited by this infamous aunt, she said, "Probably not." Her daughter always experienced painful periods which reminded her she needed to get the hot water bottle ready for when she arrived home... just in case... "Now, don't bother Meiko. Aunt Flo has her in a lot of pain."

This was disturbing news to the children who realized Ms Kashu knew about Aunt Flo and her sadistic nature and took it as if it was a normal thing.

The children exchanged knowing looks as Yoshiro mouthed _"conspiracy, indeed"_.

Ojou mouthed back, _"Told ya so"_, with a satisfied look on her face.

They whistled their way out of the living room and waited for Meiko on the front porch leaving a puzzled Ms Kashu to wonder if she should talk to the children about this aunt. She shook her head thinking to herself, _'They are just barely 9'_ and she headed towards the kitchen to kiss her husband and get a hot water bottle ready for her daughter. Afterwards she took her briefcase to the study to look at some paperwork before dinner.

A few minutes later they saw Meiko's figure approaching the house. Her gait was slow and labored which convinced the children that Aunt Flo was some kind of military woman trying to get Meiko in shape. At least that had been one of Ojou's speculations because family shouldn't treat each other like that, she surmised.

The children ran towards her and asked her about her day.

"It was the most horrible day of my life. And to top it off, I've gone to the communists." At this the children's eyes opened wide. Ojou took Yoshiro aside and tried to explain the implications of that last statement while Meiko went inside the house.

"D'ya know what this means?"

"My sister has become a red commie." Yoshiro said defeated.

"Worse. Aunt Flo is a commie agent and is trying to force Meiko... or has forced Meiko into trying to overthrow the government."

"Why would anyone want to recruit Meiko? Have you seen how lazy she is? Her only worries right now are boys and make up. How is that going to overthrow anything?"

"Could you imagine if everyone was like that?" They both shuddered at the thought. "They are trying to turn Japan into a lazy, make-up-wearing, boy-crazed nation!" Ojou said as if to try to drive the point across. "Now more than ever we need to catch your aunt. It is not for curiosity's sake anymore but for the good of Japan!" She said raising a fist in the air.

"O.K. For Japan." They headed inside to try to find Meiko. They figured they might be able to talk some sense into her without Aunt Flo's influence.

They'd assumed Meiko might be in the living room but not finding her there, they went to the kitchen. Yoshiro's father was looking in the fridge for something.

"Dad, have you seen Meiko?"

Not taking his eyes from the inside of the fridge he said, "She's with your mother right now." He took a bunch of broccoli out and smiled at the children. "Now, don't bother your sister. OK?" Yoshiro rolled his eyes and was about to leave when Ojou held him by the arm.

"When is Aunt Flo coming?" Ojou asked giving Yoshiro a meaningful look. The father set the broccoli bunch on the cutting board and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

"She should be with Meiko." He sighed and quickly changed the subject. "Dinner will be served in 30 minutes so don't go too far." The children nodded and ran around looking for Yoshiro's mother, Meiko and/or the now commie agent apparition of a possibly foreign, athletic, radioactive aunt. .

They found Yoshiro's mother in the study pouring over some paperwork. Breathlessly they asked, "Where's Meiko and Aunt Flo?"

Not paying too much attention to the question or the ones asking, she absently answered "In the family room." By the time she registered the question, the children had run to the family room. _"Oh well! They're not gonna do something stupid."_ and she went back to her paperwork.

-o-

The family room had a door that connected to the backyard. This was the reason why the children had approached this room slowly. They didn't want Yoshiro's aunt to flee through the backyard. They peered through the opened door but couldn't see anyone. They figured either they were on the couch or they were in the backyard.

Ojou pressed her forefinger against her lips to indicate to Yoshiro that they should be quiet. She made a circle in the air with her index finger and then pointed at Yoshiro. Afterwards, she pointed at the front door then curved her finger towards the backyard. Lastly she pointed at herself and with her index and middle finger she pointed inside the room.

Yoshiro nodded and headed back towards the front door in order to go to the backyard from outside. He took stealthful steps so as not to make noise. Ojou waited for Yoshiro to give her a signal from the backyard door. She heard a small groan coming from the couch and wondered if Aunt Flo had flown the coup or was she torturing Meiko. Ojou was getting impatient.

Seeing the backyard door opening by just a hair, she started slowly walking inside circling the couch. She indicated to Yoshiro to do the same as she mouthed, _"Anyone outside?" _Yoshiro shook his head and silently walked towards the couch. As they circled the couch like sharks around a wounded fish, another painful groan was heard from it and they decided it was now or never.

Ojou nodded at Yoshiro and they ran full force towards the couch. Jumping from behind Ojou cried "Ooooorrrryyyaaa!!!!!" landing hard on Meiko's chest while Yoshiro cried "Aaaarrrrggghhh!!!!" as he jumped on Meiko's legs. Meiko just grunted in pain from this surprise attack and stupid Aunt Flo.

"Get off! Get off! Get off!" She managed to say after she gained her bearings. Ojou seemed surprised to find that it was only Meiko and Aunt Flo had indeed flown the coup.

"Where's Aunt Flo?" Ojou asked while poor Yoshiro kept getting kicked by Meiko who was struggling to free herself from their hold.

"What're y'talkin' 'bout?" Meiko screamed.

"Calm down Meiko. It doesn't matter if Aunt Flo ain't here. You can't turn commie on us. D'ya hear?" Ojou said concerned.

"Yeah, it don't matter how much Aunt Flo tortures ya. You can't do this." Yoshiro added looking at the curious hot water bottle on Meiko's lower abdomen.

"Uh-huh... where's your pride? You can't turn your back on your country, Meiko." Ojou was interrupted by Yoshiro who showed her the hot water bottle while Meiko thrashed around. The only thing Meiko managed to say was,**"Mmmmmooooooommmmm!!!"**

Her mother came running just in time to see Ojou and Yoshiro pinning her daughter. At that precise moment Ojou was heard saying, "My God! What has your Aunt Flo done to you?" while she looked at the hot water bottle Yoshiro was holding.

"What are you guys doing?" Yoshiro's mother was losing her temper which she rarely did.

"Mom, Aunt Flo is torturing Meiko trying to get some commie recruits!" He said still pinning Meiko's legs under his weight.

"WHAT?"

"Yes, Ms. Kashu. Aunt Flo is a commie agent who's trying to overthrow the government by turning Meiko into a commie!" Ojou said alarmed while keeping her hold on subversive Meiko.

Ms. Kashu wanted to laugh but it seemed so wrong when they seemed to be trying to _save Japan from imminent danger _that she just scowled at them. Laughter playing on the scowl she tried to maintain. Before her composure had a chance to crack leading her in bouts of laughter, she said as sternly as she could muster, "Go outside and play a little before dinner, and leave Meiko alone. I'll talk to her".

Reluctantly, they let go of Meiko who had lost all sense of humor thanks to Aunt Flo. Although years later, she'd remember fondly how her little brother and his friend tried to save her from commie Aunt Flo. For now, though, she just wanted to bop them both on the head.

After this, no one talked about commie Aunt Flo and Ms. Kashu's sisters were so delighted by the story that they grinned whenever Yoshiro was around. They also stopped referring to it as 'Aunt Flo' using 'that time' instead . Meiko never referred to it as 'going to the commies'. And, Ojou and Yoshiro were happy Aunt Flo didn't seem to make an appearance in Yoshiro's house after that.

* * *

_**A/N**_:  
_1._ Seriously, I had never heard of "Gone to the communist" as a euphemism for menstruation but there it was in a few websites on euphemisms. (TamPontification and Aunt Flow's World of Menstruation Euphemisms)  
_2._ I actually had no drive to write this chapter which was strange to me. I always thought only writer's block or life would get in the way of my writing. I can not say I was being lazy, either. Don't know if that makes any sense. I guess I associate being lazy with not caring and that wasn't it. I had in my mind what I wanted to write but I just could not bring myself to type it. I hope you still enjoyed it. 


	13. Play Date

_**A/N**_: Written because Ojou has to learn a bit about her feminine side some time... really!

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is

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**Play Date** _(age 9)  
**or**_  
**Ojou's Feminine Side**

Lisa Moore was the typical everyday American girl with the ordinary girl-next-door look that was more plain than pretty. Thin, flyaway, golden hair framed a pair of sea-blue eyes. The flagrant animosity between her snow-like complexion and the sun's warming rays was evident by her flu-like symptoms and general redness whenever the two faced off. Her arctic-like description was contained in a 5'10" frame which, though not the average height for an American woman, was not exactly uncommon.

She had met Bunpei Ishimaru in college. A transfer student from Japan, Bunpei was the typical everyday Japanese boy: thick-silky-moonlit black hair and coffee-colored slanted eyes with a hint of yellow pigmentation in his complexion. This study in contrasts was quite common in Japan. In fact, he'd have been one of many had it not been for his 5'9" height uncharacteristic of Japanese men though not necessarily unheard of.

It was surprising to some that someone as American as apple pie had married someone as Japanese as... miso soup.

It had started with a mutual attraction they didn't know they shared. It continued with trepidation over cultures they didn't understand. Thus, their cautious hearts confined themselves to study each other from afar. Their misguided friends accosted them with common misconceptions and rumors of stereotypes causing Lisa and Bunpei to retreat within themselves. However, as time went on misconceptions and stereotypes fell leaving their exposed hearts curiously studying each other once more until they surrendered to their feelings.

Stolen glances and hesitant touches led to tentative kisses and guarded embraces until yellow and white blended and mixed and fused ending in a volcanic eruption of commingling colors. It was in one of those frenzied amalgamations that a child was conceived.

Rini Ishimaru was conceived, born and raised in the States. At least raised until the age of 8 when Bunpei's job relocated him to Japan. It wasn't an easy decision to make for our all-American-girl, but it was one she made knowing that it would help her husband's career. Her career goals would be slightly delayed, but the relocation was only for 4 years. She was thankful that the newspaper where she worked as a journalist had agreed to hire her on a straightforward freelance contract with promise of getting her job back once she returns. This meant she had to come up with 5 to 6 articles per month and she would be paid per article written. Not such a great deal but it also meant she could do some freelancing for Japanese newspapers if she so desired. She'd worry about getting her career goal back on track once they returned to the States. For now, they needed to acclimate themselves to a different environment, a different culture, a different way of doing certain things. Hopefully this transition will go smoothly for her daughter.

Now, one look at Rini Ishimaru and it was self-evident she was a _hafu_-child. Rini had sea-blue eyes which peered through slanted ones. Her light yellowed skin was marred by a few freckles around the bridge of her nose. However, it was her naturally light brown hair which had gotten her several detentions from a school who thought her mother had dyed her hair, and dyed hair was against school regulations. The tallest in her class, and even in her age group, Rini stood out like a neon sign. This made Rini unconsciously scrunch up her shoulders inwardly like a wilted flower. And in a great imitation of a question mark, Rini tried to blend in.

Her mother worried about her. In the States her worries stemmed from American society's mainstream idea that you are either black or white. Yellow, being neither white nor black, hovers like a heavy fog between the two. Any insidious discrimination was hushed. In Japan her worries took a different route. A country where homogeneity is sought and where standing out for the sake of standing out is seen as an undesirable deviance, her child, being a fraction to their whole, had no other option but to stand out by virtue of what she was not: pure Japanese. It was these truths that had her worried that the potential rejection of both her cultures would create an identity crisis on young Rini. This prompted Lisa Moore to impress in her daughter her right to belong to two cultures that at times might not want her or accept her. She wanted her daughter to understand that she was more than bi-lingual: she was _bi_-racial, she was _bi_-cultural.

According to her mother, her dual identity should be a source of pride. But, these assurances were not comforting to Rini when she was out in the playground and stared at whether by a sea of white or a sea of yellow. In either country the number of stares varied from town to town. In the town where she currently resided the children, who were not used to these differences, stared unabashedly as children tend to do. A few children, having Rini's best interest at heart and thinking her hair color was due to malnutrition, or at least a deficiency of sorts, gave Rini advice on foods to ingest to turn her hair black. However, the children weren't the only ones staring. The parents stared without shame. There were no ill-intentions in their stares. But being under constant scrutiny, however innocent the scrutiny might be, can be a source of anxiety and inadequacy to a child learning its place in the world.

It was the young heir's reaction, or lack thereof, that had Rini following her petite classmate with interest. It wasn't until the Halloween party that she had the opportunity to really talk to the young heir and confirm her assessment: to Ojou she was simply Rini.

It came as no surprise that when Rini kept talking about a Kumiko-chan, her mother was eager to arrange a play date between the two children. When she told her husband that a Kumiko Yamaguchi was Rini's friend and she was thinking of arranging a play date for the following Saturday, the husband nodded absently. The name sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. He strained lightly without success. Figuring it wasn't important, he limited himself to nodding and smiling as his wife prattled excitedly about Rini's new little friend. Half an hour later, he remembered where he'd heard the name before. Thus, he mentioned in passing that this Kumiko-chan was actually the young heir of the Kuroda clan. This left Lisa stupefied as she tried to reconcile the notion of her daughter's first friend in Japan being a yakuza heir.

Her husband, seeing her apprehension, tried to explain to her that the Japanese mafia and the American mafia were two different animals, so to speak, but Lisa was suspicious of this convenient excuse. Of course, Bunpei tried to feed Lisa the whole samurai background of the yakuza. This explanation fell on deaf ears as Lisa-san insisted that it didn't matter how he dressed it up, the mafia was still the mafia. He even tried to explain that Rini wouldn't turn yakuza for hanging with Kumiko. "Kids are kids after all", he said. However, Lisa was not willing to expose her only daughter to the likes of the mafia — Japanese, American or otherwise.

It wasn't until Bunpei pointed out that Rini had become overly shy since their arrival to Japan and how she'd be stunting her social and emotional growth if she banned the only friend Rini had shown any interest in that she capitulated. Her husband was right. They were both just children. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, she'd arrange the play date to take place at her house.

-o-

The Kuroda Boss' wife had not been overly romantic though she had been definitely girly. His daughter seemed to have been given triple the normal girlish dosage. So, he'd half expected his granddaughter, having been raised by his very girly (but strong-willed) daughter, to hold some of that extra girly goodness —or more along the lines of an overdose. However, he didn't see any of that in Ojou.

He was secretly relieved that this had been the case. This relief came with guilt as he wondered how his daughter would have reacted, if she were alive, at how Ojou was turning out. He consoled himself with the fact that, though Ojou may have been influenced by him and the clan, Ojou (for the most part) behaved this way before she even came under his care. Moreover, it wasn't like he was going to force Ojou into being a poem-obsessed, flower-picking, pink-loving, romance-seeking girl (not that there was anything wrong with that). He wanted her to be herself but he wanted her to also know how to talk to women.

He had been concerned about her lack of female friends. He was happy when Miho-san, Chie-san (now Wakamatsu's wife) and the rest of the women in the village had taken to her. Even Meiko-chan being only 7 yrs older than her had been a welcomed addition in Ojou's life. However, the grandfather was ecstatic when Lisa-san, Rini's mother, had called trying to arrange a play date with Ojou. The only thing that troubled him was that the play date would take place so far from Kuroda territory. At the moment, there were no conflicts involving the Kuroda clan, but in the yakuza, things had a tendency to turn confrontational without much warning. For this reason he asked if Fuji, the tosa dog, could come to the play date as a precaution.

The young mother was puzzled at the strange request. Being in a different country, she wasn't sure if the request was a cultural thing or if it was a weird request that trascended cultures. She wondered how she should react. She didn't want to stand-out more than she already did thereby ending as an eternal unwelcomed guest in her husband's country.

The Kuroda Boss noted her hesitation, and not wanting to scare the mother of the only female young friend Ojou had managed to make, he decided against telling Lisa-san about the yakuza and their volatile disposition. After all, Rini's mother was _gaijin_ and they tended to run around in a state of confusion most of the time. Thus, he confined himself to simply say that Fuji was a good guard dog and since their place was so far away he would feel better if the dog was protecting his granddaughter.

Lisa Moore wondered once again if she had made a mistake in inviting_ Kumi-ko _into her house. Remembering her husband's words, she decided to accept. The girl could bring her dog if she wanted to do so as long as she could keep a close eye on the _kumi-child_.

-o-

"D'ya wanna see somethin'?" Rini nodded excitedly.

The young heir scanned the room and when she was sure they were alone, she clambered onto the tosa dog's back as if he was a pony. The tosa dog endured the treatment as he had done so many times. The only difference was that her grandfather wasn't there to tell her, for the nth time, to not use Fuji as a means of transportation.

"C'mon Fuji" She clicked her tongue a few times to urge the tosa dog forward. The tosa dog grudgingly acquiesced.

"He's like a pony!" Rini looked on in wonderment.

"You wanna hop on?" The young heir said holding onto the wrinkles on Fuji's face earning a soft grumble from the sullen-looking Fuji. With his head hung low and tail firmly tucked between his hind legs, he cast eyes glossed with defeat to the floor.

"He doesn't look too happy." Rini said with a glimmer of compassion.

"Nah, he doesn't mind. He's the best dog ever!" Ojou leaned forward to embrace Fuji's neck. The tosa dog raised his head in what seemed to be an attempt to make sure his young charge wouldn't fall forward. Rini mimicked Ojou's actions and buried her face on the side of Fuji's slightly wrinkled neck. The tosa dog patiently endured the assault.

Between the hearty laughs of one and the playful giggles of another one, they took turns getting rides on Fuji's back. These_ pony rides_ went on for a while until Fuji ambled glumly towards his charge's side and sat down refusing to move from his position. His head was still hung low only daring to look at his charge out of the corner of his eyes. Any nobility and courage innate to this breed had been stripped by this ordeal.

"I think we broke the pony" Rini said stroking the tosa dog's head who after thirty seconds took this as a sign that the young girl wanted to rub his belly. Really, what other reason could there be? So, he rolled over.

"Ah, he's just tired." Ojou scratched Fuji's belly causing its hind leg to shake as she found the 'happy spot'. "What do you want to do?" Ojou asked her young friend.

"Let's play dress-up!" Rini said excitedly.

"Dress-up?" The young heir looked at her new friend incredulous.

"Yes." Rini dragged the young heir into her parents' closet were an array of western clothes met traditional Japanese attire. She took one of her mother's kimono, a light pink one which was covered entirely with ivory chrysanthemums. Donning it over her clothes, she stroke a pose like a super model and said with extravagant flair, "Just pick one, put it on and we pretend we're grown ups"

The young heir scanned the closet. She moved through the skirts, pants, dresses, blouses, and kimonos. Her gaze fell on a lovely black kimono with blood red lining and a golden dragon embroidered on the back, two small _kamon _were on either side of the chest.

Now our young heir loved dragons. So, at the sight of such a magnificent golden image, it was natural to see our young heir gleefully reaching for it.

"Nononono" Her new-friend grabbed the black kimono. "This is a guy's kimono."

"It is?!" The young heir eyed the dragon longingly. "How'd cha know?"

"Duh. Black, dragons... That's boy stuff!" Rini waved the kimono as if to show the manliness of the clothes.

"But I love dragons!" Ojou whined as she lovingly caressed the dragon resting in Rini's hands. "Besides girls can like dragons"

Rini shook her head and grabbed a light slate blue kimono. Covering the kimono were very fine outlines of medium-sized scales stitched in iridescent rich blue thread. A few randomly scattered scales were covered in matte rich blue thread. "Here." Rini offered. "This will look pretty with your black hair." Ojou, thankful that it was not pink, eyed the offered kimono. The design reminded her of a dragon's scaly skin. Needless to say, the young heir was pleased.

Ojou grabbed the blue kimono and gently traced a few of the scales. Enthralled by what she was sure were dragon's scales, the young heir slowly put on the blue kimono over her clothes.

"You know what we need?" Rini didn't wait for Ojou to respond before she said, "Makeup".

Grinning she went to raid her mother's dresser. At this precise moment Lisa-san decided to check up on the children. The sight of her daughter heading towards the dresser caused Lisa-san to quickly run inside the room to prevent such action.

"What are you doing?" she asked her daughter in that 'I don't think so' tone mother's are known for using.

"Getting some make-up?" Rini, frozen on the spot, pointed to the dresser with a slight cringe.

"You're too young for make-up." She said shaking her head.

"Aw, please mom!" Rini said pouting and in that whiny voice children often use on adults to try to get their way. "It's just for dress up"

Lisa-san looked at the two children in her best kimonos. One was staring at the scaly kimono in awe, and the other one, her daughter, was looking at her with pleading eyes. She sighed. She supposed her little Rini was growing up and pretty soon she'd have to teach her how to put on makeup. She looked once more at her daughter who had not wavered from her pleading stance._ 'Ah, they grow up so fast'_. Actually, she wished those first few years before potty training would have gone faster but once Rini started going to school... time just seemed to slip through her fingers.

"Moooommm" Her daughter whined once more taking her out of her reverie. She supposed there was no harm in letting them wear a _little_ makeup. After all, they were just playing. Rini wasn't going to run-off and get married any time soon. She was still her baby.

"Mo-o-o-o-o-o-ommmm!" Rini swung her shoulders about like a marionette while her whiny voice sputtered, like an old car, the once monosyllabic word.

_'Well, my whiny baby but my baby nonetheless.'_ Lisa Ishimaru rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She cupped her child's cheek. "Let me put it on for you." She sat down on the dresser's chair and looked for a very subtle blush and a lipgloss. She may have conceded to putting makeup on the two children but that didn't mean that she'd let them put on full makeup.

"Here, Kumiko-chan" The young heir looked at Rini's mother. "Let's put a little makeup on you." She took the kabuki brush and swept it in a swirling motion over the pigmented powder. She slowly raised the brush to her lips and blew on it. Tiny specks of colored powder swirled in the air. The colored particles shimmered and flashed under the sunlight streaming through the bedroom window giving the impression of a glitter globe for an almost fantasy-like effect. Ojou looked on in awe.

Tendrils of a memory tried to tickle her synapses.

"Close your eyes now." Lisa-san said. Ojou complied.

The soft feel of the brush on her cheek made those tendrils move and twist and turn.

"You can open them now." Lisa said to Ojou and proceeded to apply some lipgloss. Afterwards she turned towards her daughter.

As the scene repeated again, she tried desperately to reach for those tendrils that were haunting the edges of her mind shrouding her in warmth and comfort.

"There you go, young ladies". Lisa said smiling. "You're ready for a night on the town."

And just when those tendrils seemed to be within grasp, they dissipated in a wisp of smoke. The actual memory degraded beyond recall, though the feeling of it remained much like a phantom limb.

Rini looked at her mother and with widened eyes she waggled her eyebrows meaningfully. When this gesture didn't get the desired response from her mother, Rini quickly shifted her eyes from her mother to the door and back to her mother while she slightly jerked her head in the general direction of said door. Lisa Ishimaru understood her daughter wanted to play with her friend_ sans _mother. Taking her daughter's cue, she headed to the door. However she couldn't help but stay by the door if only to listen in for a few minutes.

And as the young heir reveled in those feelings of warmth and comfort, she watched Ms. Ishimaru retreat. Once Ms. Ishimaru was out of the room, the young heir didn't know what to do. She checked herself. She was wearing the scaly kimono. She checked her friend. She was wearing the pink one. She waited for a few seconds, unsure of what to do next.

"O.K. now what?" She opened her arms welcoming any suggestion.

"We act like grown ups" Rini gestured with an affectation of refinement.

Ojou shrugged and without further explanation, in the gruffest, roughest, toughest, most menacing tone a 9 yr old could muster, she said,

"**Ou!** A little birdie's been sayin' you've been doin' some biznez in my lil' neck o' da woods." The young heir tilted her head while the back of her fingers stroked the underside of her chin in menacing contemplation.

Rini's mother watched this exchange discreetly. Slightly alarmed by the young heir's response, Lisa-san began inching closer and closer, hoping Rini would be OK. Her husband had just witnessed Ojou's pretend play, and seeing his wife's anxiety, he stood by her and whispered, _"Children have a funny way of making sense of the world around them. I'm sure she doesn't know what she's saying."_ This did not assuage Lisa-san though she stopped her approach. She stayed close by in case she needed to interfere.

"Ain't no one playin' in my backyard without my say so" Ojou slowly strummed her fingers into fists. Rini tilted her head cocking a confused eyebrow.

"Are we playing cowboys?", said Rini blinking a few times.

"No, silly! We're playing grown ups" Young Ojou had gotten out of character to explain. Lisa's eyes widened as she looked at her husband who whispered, _"Just watch a little longer before you interfere." _He worried that he may have made a mistake. He worried that he had misjudged the young heir and in the process put his daughter in danger. Was Kumiko-chan not just a child, a little girl? He looked at the two children dressed in his wife's best and smiled. Rini would be fine (he hoped).

"Nah, that's not right" Young Rini scratched her head, oblivious to the implication of Ojou's interpretation of how adults behaved. After all, it is adults who teach children about malice. "We talk, look pretty and gossip."

Lisa Ishimaru frowned at her daughter's statement. Her husband just smirked. _"Don't you dare say a word"_, Lisa threatened her husband whose eyes danced in amusement. There is a difference between caring about your appearance and having your self-worth depend on your appearance. She hoped her daughter knew the difference. _'I'll have to have a little talk with her.'_

"This is nuts!" The young heir said exasperated. "Besides... isn't gossiping a bad thing?"

"Well..." Rini stopped to ponder the question for a second.

"Let's play Wonder Woman instead" The young heir said grinning. "D'ya like Wonder Woman?" Lisa Ishimaru grinned at the question.

Normal children playing superhero. Lisa and Bunpei Ishimaru let out a heavy breath. This caused Lisa to look at her husband and question his relief. With a sheepish smile, Bunpei shrunk back and cowered away as his wife repeated, in mocking hushed tones, each assurance he'd dispensed. Making a mental note to have a word with her husband about this little incident, she directed her attention once more towards the two children.

"Of course! Who doesn't like Wonder Woman?" Rini beamed at the familiar superhero game. Though Rini was partial to Xena: Warrior Princess. Sure, Xena was not really a superhero, but the point is she kicks major ass.

"Apparently Yoshiro..." The young Kuroda child frowned at the recollection of Yoshiro's near blasphemous remarks.

"Ah but he's a boy. What does he know?!" Rini waved dismissively

"Well, in his defense he does have a point about Wonder Woman's choice of crime-fighting-clothes..." Ojou frowned at the thought

"Pfft, Superman isn't dressed any better. Who wears tights? You can see _everything_." Rini offered. "And what's with the cape?" At this, her mother who had relaxed but was still listening snorted. She coughed to disguise it. The children didn't notice her presence.

"Probably so people can't look at his ass." Ojou said thoughtfully.

"I think if I was him I'd be more concerned about covering the front." Young Rini scrunched up her face. Her father, slightly embarrassed, told his wife that he was going to check on the laundry. Lisa-san nodded smugly. Concluding this was not yakuza talk, she left to make some snacks for the girls.

"You're right. All superheroes dress like crap." Ojou said decidedly. "OK so I'll be Wonder Woman and you be the bad guy." Ojou pointed at her with an extended arm in a semi-superhero pose.

"Aw, but I wanted to be Wonder Woman" Rini half-heartedly complained. Ojou thought about it for a while.

"What about if we're both Wonder Woman?"

But then who'll be the bad guy?" Both girls looked at the tosa dog who at this point was busy burying his head in the hamper, in a pile of dirty clothes, taking unrelenting sniffs in machine-gun-like fashion, and every once in a while snorting out an overdose of odors.

"Fuji!" Hearing his name caused Fuji's ears to face forward bringing his attention back to his young charge. After a sneeze, he trotted towards her, tongue flapping about like a flag while his tail moved in large fast happy wags — the kind of wags that were more_ Shakira _dance moves as it included the dog's hips and all. So the girls 'changed into Wonder Woman's crime-fighting-outfit' which just meant they twirled around while shedding the kimonos. Fuji ran circles around his charge and her friend while he barked excitedly. The young girls headed towards the backyard while deflecting imaginary bullets where Fuji, having been appointed the bad guy, ran from side to side chased by two laughing Wonder-Woman-wannabes

* * *

_**A/N**_: 

_1. kamon_ - family crests (taken from the book "Family Crests of Japan" by Takamori Ikuya)  
_2.__ hafu_ - half. Used mostly to label people half Japanese/half non-Japanese (don't know if any other biracial group is identified by this word). There is considerable debate on the net about the derogatory nature of the word. Some say that it was derogatory 30-40 yrs ago while others claim that it is still derogatory nowadays. Of course, it doesn't help that transvestites (or transexuals) are called "new-hafu" but that is another can of worms all together. Whatever the case may be, it was not used to denigrate. My intention was to **emphasize** what I was saying.  
_3. __gaijin_ - foreign. Again there is considerable debate as to whether the term is used as derision/contempt. Of course, the word appeared in early Japanese literature as meaning 'outsider' or 'enemy'... not a very promising beginning for a (hopefully) neutral word. Again, it was not used as contempt but to **emphasize **what I was saying. If you subscribe to the point of view that these words should not be used then PM me the alternative Japanese words and I will consider the change otherwise I'd rather not 'hear' any debate.  
_4._ The name for the blue colors were taken from _december(dot)com_ under _html station _under_ colorshades_. For those of you who like clothes descriptions I hope you appreciate how excruciating that was for me. I made up the scaly dress. I don't think Ojou (at this age) would like anything flowery. Hence, the scaly dress was born. If you don't think it sounds pretty then just_ pretend _it does or just _ignore_ it. As_ ev1l-ch1b1-urd _is fond of saying, **'Meh!'**  
_5._ I have nothing against people that like pink. I only meant to say that 'being female' doesn't equal 'love for pink'.  
_6._ It was interesting to me to find that Masako means 'child of Masa' and Natsuko means 'child of Natsu'. It stands to reason that the young Kuroda was purposedly named Kumiko (child of the kumi). Considering that Yamaguchi is the name of one of the biggest yakuza groups in Japan, it is not inconceivable. Then again, I may be making too much out of nothing. Shrug. I still got a big kick out of it.  
_7._ I added one sentence to explain why Rini is partial to Xena. Just in case you're re-reading and find something is amiss.


	14. Sneaking Out

_Warning_: There are some memories that are not clearly marked but I think it is understood where they start and end. Just in case, keep an eye out for them.

Edited 02/06: One sentence changed.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is

* * *

_**Sneaking Out**__ (age 9)_

Yoshiro and Ojou had started walking together to and from school ever since that day she was bullied in second grade. As far as walking together from school, it was negotiable.

"I have something to do", was all he'd periodically say. He didn't elaborate and she didn't pry.

Walking together to school, however, was a non-negotiable standing appointment.

Thus, the first day Yoshiro was absent from school was in fact the first time the young heir walked to school by herself, an unprecedented deviation from the non-negotiable appointment.

So endemic had his presence become to her school-day morning routine that, when her grandfather informed her that Yoshiro was sick, the prospect of disrupting said routine made her slightly uneasy. Though she should have seen it coming.

The previous day (a Sunday) Yoshiro had been sniffling and coughing. Each cough was followed by young Ojou's reprimand over Yoshiro's failure to cover his mouth with his hand. Yoshiro's only response to Ojou's rebuke had been a smug 'Meh!' accompanied by a seemingly disinterested shrug. Of course, such disrespect was followed by Ojou running after Yoshiro who laughed between fits of coughs and sniffles as he fled from the _little lesson _Ojou was trying to deliver, mainly through use of her right fist (with a little help from the left one).

In any case, sick was sick and she knew he couldn't help it if he was sick. She thought, if anything, things would be back to normal the following day.

The second day of Yoshiro's absence she became concerned. Having a strong constitution, she was unfamiliar with someone being sick enough to have to miss two consecutive days of school.

She blindly fumbled in her backpack for her cell. Lost in thought, she cradled it for a few seconds debating whether she should call him or not. The lone trek to school hadn't been pleasant and even the trek back had taken forever. She didn't know how long she'd be able to deal with the uncertainty of the temporal nature of this new unwelcomed routine.

_She hated uncertainty._

Her concern (taking a page from kumi behavior) manifested itself into one angry thought: _'He better be sick or I'll make him wish he was sick.' _ Driven by this thought, her thumb automatically pressed the numbers to his cell which, amazingly enough, was answered after just one ring. This confirmed the young Kuroda's suspicion.

"YOsHIrO! yOu BetTEr nOt Be pReteNDinG To bE sICk!" She said not knowing his mother was the one answering the call.

"Excuse me?" Ms. Kashu said a _tad_ annoyed followed by young Kumiko's numerous apologies.

As annoyed as Ms. Kashu had been at the young heir's outburst, she recognized the sentiment with which it was made. And, she was touched by the young heir's concern... even if it was a rather _loud_ concern...

She explained to the young heir that Yoshiro was indeed sick and not pretending. She also informed her that Yoshiro was too ill and needed rest. And remembering Ojou's tendency to blow things out of proportion with her overactive imagination, she made a point to mention that he had measles and wasn't allowed any visitors. She added that it might be a week or so of bedrest before he would be able to go back to school. This statement danced around in Ojou's mind but she dismissed it deciding she'd misheard her. A bit disappointed, Ojou thanked Yoshiro's mother and went about her homework.

By the third day of Yoshiro's absence, a ripple of worry seized the young Kuroda forcing to the foreground the statement she'd tried to ignore. _'A week or so of bedrest...' _She rejected the possibility of Yoshiro and measles. If her time with the kumi had taught her anything it was that only three things could keep you in bed for that long: an extremely bad beating, slash wounds and gunshot wounds.

Her anger flared up at the thought of someone trying to hurt Yoshiro. Her fingers strummed into fists instinctively as she thought of payback to whoever had hurt her friend. And it was this one thought that drove her to investigate. In order to do that she'd need to talk to Yoshiro which meant (seeing as his parents won't put him on the phone) she'd have to pay him a visit after school. Of course, the problem with that was that his parents were not allowing anyone to visit him. In her 9 year old mind, this could only mean that he was in really bad shape, unconscious and possibly disfigured _'...from really bad wounds'_, she concluded causing her worries to escalate.

When she came from school Kyou-san told her about an important meeting that would take place that evening, and he asked her to stay in her room during the meeting. This would complicate her efforts to see Yoshiro.

Her plan had originally been to play outside and when no one was looking to sneak out. She couldn't very well leave now. Kyou-san would probably check in on her periodically because of the meeting. Her only hope was that Kyou-san would be too busy with the meeting to check in on her; otherwise, she'd have to sneak out in the middle of the night. So, she waited for an opportunity to arise, and she watched as a few kumi started trickling in. Each kumi greeted the young Kuroda heir before they gathered in the living room.

Time ticked away as kumi after kumi filed in with no sign of the meeting coming to order. She was beginning to get impatient.

She tried to distract herself by doing her homework but she couldn't concentrate. Her mind was fragmented between homework and Yoshiro and the kumi-meeting.

She told Kyou-san she'd go upstairs to finish her homework. This way she'd be able to wait (without attracting attention) for a good opportunity to sneak out and Kyou-san (knowing she was upstairs) wouldn't look for her later.

When evening came two pairs of eyes watched from the stair landing the comings and goings of the kumi. One pair belonged to the young Kuroda heir who was crouching down peering through the railings. The other pair belonged to the tosa dog who stood faithfully beside his charge.

_"Great! Fine time to be sneaking out of the house, Kumiko!"_ She whispered sardonically to herself. Fuji panted beside her. His foul breath rushed in her right ear causing wisps of hair to fly in the air as if trying to escape the stench. Young Ojou turned her head towards the tosa dog only to receive a full blast of Fuji's eau de _toilet_. She crinkled her nose and grimaced trying to get over the offensive odor without making a sound.

_"Sit."_ She managed to say as authoritative as she could within a whisper. The tosa dog sat down tilting his head as he waited.

_"Stay."_ She said in conjunction with the hand signal causing Fuji's ears to perk up facing forward, his whole attention focused on the young heir.

She crept slowly down each step keeping her weight on the balls of her feet.

Fuji (stuck on the stair landing by one single word) fidgetted as he watched her form recede. His front paws alternately patted the wooden floor as he waited for Ojou to release him from the command.

The young Kuroda heard Fuji's faint earnest padding cutting through the noise coming from the living room. She paused and turned to look at Fuji. Pointing at him (and in cautious tones) she repeated, _"Stay"_. The tosa dog lay down in silent protest, his head hung over the step, shifty eyes avoiding the young heir in quiet submission. The young heir continued her descend.

Down in the living room, the kumi speculated over the reason behind the emergency meeting ordered by the Kuroda Boss.

Speculation gave way to paranoia turning buzz to din with Tsuji trying to calm down the ruffled kumi. The sheer number of kumi could have made sneaking out difficult but the state of confusion helped detract from the lurking 9 year old who at this point was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for a good opportunity to move towards the back door.

She took her chance when Kyou-san entered the room. With half the kumi's attention on Tsuji and the other half on Kyou-san, she surreptitiously reached the back door. Opening the door, she dove into the night's cold embrace. She grabbed the edges of her jacket and held them together in an involuntary reflex.

Breathing in the night air, she took a backward glance at the Kuroda house. This was the first time she sneaked out of the house and she felt a twinge of guilt for sneaking out, especially when it sounded like something big was going on in the yakuza.

When she was seven, her first year in the Kuroda house, Kyou-san used to keep her company whenever there were important yakuza meetings.

He played with her which explained her predilection for games of the... _rougher _nature. It was also how she'd learned the basics of gambling. Of course, the finer art of gambling came from Toru but that is another story all together.

The need of Kyou-san's presence in a few of these meetings forced them to instruct the child, halfway through that year, to stay in her room whenever there was an important yakuza meeting.

It was at the age of eight (last year) when they'd granted her free roam of the house during these meetings as long as she stayed away from the meeting area. The hide-and-seek incident had been unfortunate but understandable. Not understanding that yakuza meetings are not a common occurence in every Japanese household, the young heir knew enough to keep away from the room but not enough to understand the importance of keeping her friend away from it.

Now, at the age of nine, she had earned a place at some of the meetings. Her grandfather had originally been against having her present. There was always a chance that one of those inter-clan meetings would turn ugly. Though no one went to the lion's den to kill the lion, if they wanted to leave with their lives, but in the yakuza distrust was rampant and the wrong word, the wrong move, and even the wrong look could turn into flailing guns and katanas. Definitely not the best environment for a nine year old to be in.

Fear of katanas and guns being wielded in anger was minimal in the meetings that dealt exclusively with internal clan politics but he still didn't want his nine year old granddaughter to see the underbelly of their operation. He really wanted her to be a normal nine year old (or as normal as a nine year old could be with a yakuza Boss for a grandfather).

But the young heir had insisted so much that he ceded. He figured that she could attend the ones riddled with ceremony. The potential for_ complications _on those was minimal.

He thought she'd get bored when she started seeing all the strict ceremony needed and quickly desist of this nonsense. Besides Ojou wasn't one to sit still for very long, no child is. And he would have been right had it not been for the low tolerance the kumi themselves have for sitting still, especially in closed spaces without many routes of escape. Thus, the young heir endured with as much aplomb as any of the kumi there. Kyou sat by her side, in the very back of the room, and explained proper etiquette in hushed tones.

So taken had she been by the ceremonies that the Boss eventually agreed to let her witness meetings that showcased more the art of diplomacy without a close look at the actual yakuza operation.

Now diplomacy, whether it be yakuza-style or government-coordinated, is usually peace sought by strategy (or necessity) rather than by desire. These diplomatic meetings tend to be fast moving cold fronts of power struggles which could turn to _storms _in a manner of minutes (particularly in the yakuza though definitely not unheard of in conventional government). For this reason the Kuroda Boss had instructed Kyou to sit in the back right by the door and make a hasty retreat (last Kuroda bloodline in tow) at the first inkling of... _thunder_.

The thing she found intriguing about these meetings was the differences in behavior inside and outside a meeting. Outside these meetings the kumi were all about posturing and baring teeth and fighting. Inside them, intimidation through passivity was the name of the game. "Honeyed words with an undertone of threat", her grandfather had said once. _'Sour candy'_, her young mind had translated. She found this figurative peeing for dominance fascinating which, of course, spoke volumes of her character.

This is how she knew something was wrong. Kyou-san would have asked her to attend or would have just told her to stay away from the conference room. He definitely wouldn't have asked her to stay in her room. After all, she wasn't seven anymore. But right now she had more important things to worry about than being seen as a baby. She needed to get information on Yoshiro's assailant and this was the only way she was going to get it. She'd worry about this yakuza meeting when she got back.

At the moment the most immediate problem was getting to Yoshiro's house without being spotted by either one of the townspeople from their territory or one of the kumi patrolling the area. Thankfully, her stealth skills were fitting for a yakuza heir (or a Mission Impossible movie) thus she passed surreptitiously among townspeople and kumi alike as she scurried from shadow to shadow. The gibbous moon silently followed the young heir as it coyly hid in and out of plumes of clouds in playful burlesque fashion.

Stopping outside Yoshiro's bedroom window, she prepared herself for the sight of an actually wounded Yoshiro (whether beaten, slashed or gunned) repeating to herself that at least he was still alive, not exactly the most comforting thought but it served its purpose._ 'On the plus side, he'll probably just get a nice big scar.' _She smiled at the thought.

Silently she sneaked through the window into Yoshiro's bedroom

_"Yoshiro"_, she whispered. He was in bed and he looked miserable. She carefully studied the prone form. She didn't notice any obvious gunshot wounds or katana wounds. There were no bruises nor broken bones...

_"Yoshiro"_, she repeated when she failed to get a response.

"Hn." He was barely able to grunt in acknowledgement. He forced his eyelids to flutter open and tried to focus on the voice that had just called his name.

"Wow, you look like death warmed over." She said in awe and shock while she poked him a few times just to make sure he'd move. _'He really is just __plain__ sick... just measles.' _She blinked a few times not believing her eyes while her finger continued the incessant poking.

"You always have a way of making me feel _sooo _much better." His attempt at sarcasm was watered down by the frailty of his voice. Still, Ojou got the sarcasm.

"And you..." She was about to volley with a sarcastic remark of her own but she couldn't. He looked so weak and helpless. She noticed the rash on his arms and the pained face. She had planned to barge in demanding to know who had hurt him. She hadn't expected this. His frailty scared her. It reminded her of her father.

She hadn't been allowed to visit him either. Her neighbor, Ms Mizuno, had taken her in. While Mizuno-san had been busy talking to a doctor she sneaked into her father's room. She could hardly tell it was her father. In her mind he'd always been bigger than life. But there, lying on that bed with tubes sprouting out of him like branches on a tree, he'd looked so small. The steady drone of the machines pumping and dripping and monitoring her father had been interrupted by a very agitated nurse who, after grabbing her hand, had dragged her out of the room all the while saying (more to herself than to the child) how she shouldn't have been there.

While she was being dragged, she saw Ms. Mizuno in the distance arguing with what seemed to be... a pillar. When she was close enough to hear, she heard Ms. Mizuno say "She's better off with me. You know they never would have agreed to let you keep her!"

She couldn't see the man behind the pillar but she heard him say, "There's really no legal action you can take." It was then Ms Mizuno became aware of Kumiko's approach. By the time Kumiko reached her, the man behind the pillar was gone leaving a nervous Mizuno-san.

On the drive home, Ms. Mizuno had tried to explain what a coma was and the chances of recovery her father had.

Three days he'd been in a coma, three days of hope and dread bound in common yoke, three days of uncertainty over his recovery.

_She hated uncertainty. _

At least Yoshiro was awake and responding.

"So, this is measles". She'd managed to say hoping he'd indirectly confirm he had not been in a car accident.

Yoshiro simply nodded unused to Ojou's reflective mood. The _Kumichou_ he knew was brash, loud, impetuous, a bit uncultured, royally dense about girly things, and definitely in your face (with a mean right hook he might add). But one thing you could never say about Kumichou was that she was reflective. He wondered how high was his fever and unconsciously rubbed his forehead with the palm of his right hand as if to check.

She didn't know what to say. It wasn't until she noticed his hair that she ventured to speak. "You cut your hair!" She said forcing the darker thoughts out of her head. She took a few strands of hair in her hand and let them gently slip from her fingers. "It's still pretty long." She observed.

"Yeah" Not having the strength to sit up, he lay there and nervously combed his hair with his fingers.

"Why don't you cut it shorter?" In all the time she had known him, he'd never cut his hair much. Maybe an inch here and there but his hair was always long.

He gave her a weak shrug. He really didn't want to get into that, so he changed the subject. "So, you're not worried about catching this stuff?"

"Oh, you worry too much! I've never been seriously sick in my life. What's a little measles?" She waved a hand at him in dismissal.

"But this stuff is pretty contagious." Yoshiro insisted.

"I know. Your mother mentioned it when I called yesterday." She gestured for him to scoot over. As soon as he complied, she sat on the edge of the bed. "That was right before she told me not to come visit you. That's why I came through the window." She pointed to the window and gave Yoshiro a quizzical look as if he should know better. "Didn't you think it was strange I didn't use the door?"

"Coming from you?" He pretended to think for two seconds and managed to give a weak grin before saying, "Nope." He didn't elaborate, mostly because he wasn't even sure he was really talking to _Kumichou_. For all he knew he was still delirious from the high fever and he was in reality talking to a fever-induced figment of his own imagination.

She was still befuddled about the fact that a simple illness had managed to down a man (or in Yoshiro's case a boy).

She tried to look for a way to cheer him up but she really wasn't the cheering, comforting, soothing type. Her first inclination was to spar or at least playfully punch him but seeing how dead he looked it would not be a good idea. Playful nudging might still be uncomfortable for him. Telling him to buck up and stop being a sissy might cheer him up, she thought, but it won't be soothing.

Running out of ideas, she just lay down beside him, her arms folded across her stomach. With her gaze directed towards the ceiling, she proceded to cheer him up by going over, in excrutiating detail, everything he had missed these past few days.

In the distance they heard footsteps approaching. Most likely it was Yoshiro's mother coming to check on her son.

_"Crap!"_ She sat up and looked around the room looking for a hiding place. He watched her amusedly.

_"I've gotta go. Don't tell your mom I was here."_ And with that, she jumped out the window. The only evidence she had been there was the rustling bush which seemed to wave at him. Yoshiro looked at her exit perplexed.

_'Definitely a hallucination.'_ Yoshiro thought.

-o-

When she sneaked back into the Kuroda household, the low voices of the meeting filled the air. She crept back in and saw Fuji faithfully waiting for her at the landing. He quickly sat up forcing the young Kuroda to direct a finger towards her lips as she uttered, sotto voce, _"Shhh... Quiet"_.

The door to the conference room was ajar whether by accident or design, she didn't know. She crept up the stairs. The soft voices faded with each step.

She paused mid-step when she heard a familiar name, Lisa Ishimaru. Had she really heard the name? She wasn't sure. The voices were so faint she had to strain to even make sense of the susurrous rustle of several kumi in soft debate let alone make out a name. Curious, she crept down a few steps until the rustle became low distinguishable voices (barely a level louder than a whisper).

She sat down on one of the steps and peered through the stair railings at the door where the voices were coming from.

According to Dai, there were rumors that the Kataguri clan had deemed Lisa Ishimaru a person of interest. The reason for the sudden interest in the gaijin journalist was her insistent digging into Kataguri clan's business. The _Mainichi Shimbun _was eagerly buying several of her articles. So far, they dealt with living in Japan and minor transgressions from non-yakuza around the Kataguri territory. This was good PR for the clan seeing as they had been the ones _taking care _of the transgressors. And good PR for the yakuza was hard to come by especially in these changing times when the new generation of Japanese civilians do not appreciate all they do for the community. But after one talk with Ishimaru-san, they knew that she wasn't doing them any favors. It had been merely coincidental that her articles had featured them in such a positive light. They realized that if she found out anything that was directly or indirectly connected to clan business (good or bad), she wouldn't hesitate to write about it and they were going to have to _persuade _her that it was in her best interest to keep it to herself.

Now, any other time the Kuroda Boss would not interfere in other clans' business. And, in all honesty, he understood where the Kataguri clan stood on this particular point. However, Lisa Ishimaru (being Rini's mother) was someone the Kuroda Boss needed to protect. The problem with that was that Bunpei and Lisa Ishimaru lived in Kataguri territory. This sticky situation was one the Kuroda clan wasn't looking forward to. For one, if the Kuroda clan was found cruising Kataguri territory then they could be accused of doing business outside Kuroda territory. On the other hand, if the Kataguri clan knew Kuroda was trying to protect the gaijin journalist the Kuroda clan could be accused of trying to undermine Kataguri's authority in their own territory (quite a reasonable assumption). Either perception would converge into one sole conclusion as far as the Kataguri clan was concerned the Kuroda clan was trying to take over their territory. For this reason protecting the Ishimaru family would be a difficult task especially if they didn't want to start a yakuza war between the Kataguri clan and the Kuroda clan.

"Journalists are a tricky people to protect... especially gaijin journalists that don't know our ways."

Ojou didn't get to hear anymore as she saw Kyou-san step outside the conference room. Fearing she'd be spotted, she tried to move as quietly as she could.

_"Come"_, she whispered to Fuji who followed his charge's silent steps. Their presence went unnoticed by Kyou-san who went to the kitchen to make some tea for the kumi in the meeting.

Back in her room, Ojou couldn't sleep. She spent the rest of the night mulling over what she had heard. Rini's mother was being watched by the Kataguri clan. She didn't quite understand why.

She spent most of the night thinking about Yoshiro's measles and the kumi-meeting. Of course, as soon as sleep found her she had to wake up to go to school.

So, the 4th day of Yoshiro's absence greeted her with only two hours of sleep. She woke up tired and with a sore throat and a runny nose. Her mind was in a fog but she attributed it to having stayed up late listening in on a conversation she wasn't meant to overhear.

"Hey, you look horrible", said Rini.

"I didn't sleep much last night." She considered asking Rini about her mother's involvement with the Kataguri clan but decided she needed more information before asking such a delicate question. Besides, if her grandfather was involved then he was protecting her. It would not be good to say something that might blow their cover. Nevertheless, she was going to keep a close eye on Rini from now on.

Rini watched Kumiko silently for some time before deciding to interrupt Kumiko's mental soliloquy.

"Why didn't you sleep much?" Before Kumiko could answer, the bell rang saving her from having to come up with an excuse.

The rest of the day the young heir spent it swallowing away her throat discomfort and sniffling all the while trying to steer the conversation away from the reason behind her getting an insufficient amount of sleep.

The 5th day of Yoshiro's absence, the sniffling continued. As the day wore on, she trudged around the school. Her mind was beginning to muddle due to the onset of fever. Ms. Ishikawa noticed her inattention. Her classmates noticed as well and they were abuzz about the reason for the young heir's behavior. Ms. Ishikawa was amazed at how much influence she had in the school. She still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Kumiko-chan could bully the whole school if she wanted to, and Ms. Ishikawa was alarmed when she found out that the young heir actually policed the grounds though only to protect her friends from being bullied. Still, now was the time to make sure she didn't take matters into her own hands and learn to rely on authority. Ishikawa-sensei had mentioned this to Kuroda-sama who replied,

"Protecting your friends is one of the noblest of things."

"Yes but there is a line of authority to follow. Children can't take matters into their own hands!" She tried to explain to the Kuroda Boss.

"I trust Ojou." The Kuroda Boss said seemingly unperturbed by Ms. Ishikawa's outburst. He knew she did it thinking of Ojou's well being and he appreciated that though another outburst and he might have to remind her who she was talking to.

"B-but she is only n-nine." She said almost defeated.

"Yes." He smiled condescendingly if a bit thankful that he didn't have to remind her he was a yakuza Boss. "Remember when she was seven?" Kuroda raised a pinky and smiled at his granddaughter's precocious nature. He continued explaining as if to a child, "She's not breaking anyone's fingers. Is she? She has more sense now, she has grown."

He liked Ms. Ishikawa. She saw Ojou like she saw all her other students. She saw a child that needed guidance and she tried to give her that despite Kuroda's chosen profession and because of Kuroda's chosen profession. Kyou had been the one to point this out to the Kuroda Boss. "She is a true teacher... a classy one at that", Kyou would often say after one of their many visits to the principal where Ms. Ishikawa seemed to be a walking contradiction as she tried to explain what Ojou had done wrong to the kumi (in words they could understand) and the reason for the need for a punishment while she tried to explain to Principal Takeda that what Ojou had done didn't deserve such harsh punishment (in effect getting Principal Takeda to look at what Ojou had done without the distraction of his personal prejudices and fears about the yakuza).

Seeing she wasn't getting anywhere with the Kuroda Boss, she decided to take Ooshima-san aside as he seemed to listen to her, besides it was obvious he loved Kumiko-chan as if she was his own. Ishikawa-sensei wasn't the only walking contradiction. In her eyes, Ooshima-san himself was one. There was a gentleness about him when he dealt with Kumiko-chan that was endearing and in diametrical opposition with his hardened kumi persona.

However, she shouldn't have been surprised by his response.

"She takes after the Boss", he had said proudly (almost misty eyed).

Honestly, the young heir's behavior could be worse considering her background. She worried that the taste of power would turn her into THE bully of the playground. Kumiko-chan needed to learn to tell an adult if she saw any reprehensible behavior. Of course, Ooshima-san looked horrified at the thought of a _squealer_ for an Ojou. She had shaken her head in frustration and had smiled at the scarred kumi with a "Never mind" and a pat on the shoulder. Talking with the kumi always drained her.

The class stole glances at the young heir. Ojou's inattention was slowly disrupting the class.

Ms Ishikawa went to the child about to reprimand her when she realized she was lethargic. Putting a gentle hand on Ojou's shoulder, she noticed her high temperature. She instructed Ojou to go to the nurse's office. Ms. Ishikawa suspected it was measles. With Kumiko-chan, this would make 7 students with measles. It could turn into an epidemic considering the majority of the students were not vaccinated or had only gotten one of the vaccinations. They may have to close down the school. She left Tomiko in charge of the class while she went to wash her hands and talk to Principal Takeda about the serious possibility of closing down the school.

* * *

_**A/N**_:  
_1._ Measles symptoms and treatment taken from http://body .aol. com/conditions/measles-rubeola/  
_2._ Mainichi Shimbun (Mainichi Shinbun) - Taken from http://www .world-newspapers. com/japan. html among other websites. One of several Japanese newspapers. I don't know how conservative or left wing they might be and how feasible the idea of them buying articles from a freelance journalist would be so don't ask me. I almost started doing research on that but stopped when I realized I was doing way too much research on something I am not being paid for plus I wanted to upload this chapter ASAP. Just be happy it is a Japanese newspaper. Winks.  
_3._ I don't know too much about freelance journalists except what I have read in a few blogs. Though the "living in Japan" article seems feasible, I am uncertain how much (or if at all) a freelance journalist delve in crime scenes. With that said, I need it to happen so I claim 'creative license' on the event that it is not possible in real life.  
_4._ This was originally the first part of the chapter _Measles_ but I thought it would be better to divide it as each part concentrates on a different point I want to make (and introduces different things for future chapters). If I was not self-restricted by my 5chap/age I would probably have this particular incident be 4 to 5 chapters in itself. As it is I had to cut a few things in order to move the story along to at most 2 chapters. I still haven't finished the second part but I hope it will be done within 2 wks time. 


	15. Measles

_A/N:_ This chapter took long to upload because I had a lot of editing to do plus I was really hoping to have the computer fixed. So I spent a lot of energy trying to save it (without success). The only good thing is that I didn't lose any future chapters because I don't write my chapters in advance. I probably would have given up writing this story if I had lost future chapters. Anyway, this chapter was written because in the manga it is mentioned that Ojou had measles. My aim was to show the progression of the illness.

_Warning_: There are a couple of sentences slightly graphic in nature concerning the pinky incident. It might be offensive to sensitive readers. Also, I switch POV often and with careless abandon. I like it but it might be annoying to some. Just keep an eye out for it. Furthermore, there are some memories that are not clearly marked but I think it is understood where they start and end. Just keep an eye out for them as well. Lastly I cut out as much as I could but this chapter is still close to 7922 words. It just can't be helped.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is

* * *

_**Measles **__(age 9)_

_Friday..._

The hum of murmuring students acted as background to Ms. Ishikawa's attempts to lecture.

Poor Ishikawa-sensei was battling a losing battle. It was not really like them to ignore her. _sniff_ Yet, there they were... ignoring, even though in the past few years of teaching them she'd become almost like a surrogate parent to them. Thus their lack of attention bordered on the disrespectful. Young Ojou wondered what was going on.

_sniff_ She scanned the room, only to be met by eyes drifting away in an almost synchronized tight formation as if the figurative touch of her gaze were toxic. Truthfully, she was used to being watched. She hardly noticed it anymore but this curious choreography was unusual, and it had her questioning if she was the cause for their lack of focus. She studied herself.

Was her uniform in disarray? She looked at herself. Her uniform was in place. _Ah-choo!_

Was her hair a mess? She touched her hair, her hair was in place. _sniff_

Was there something on her teeth? She checked her teeth on her metal pencil holder, there was no debris on them. She frowned. She knew there must be something she was missing.

She rubbed her eyes.

Even Ishikawa-sensei's studious stare was carefully resting on her from the front of the class. Standing in direct contrast was Ms. Ishikawa's voice which staggered and stumbled to deliver a lecture to a less than captive audience. This discord in sight and sound was mystifying to say the least and the young heir could do nothing but openly stare.

_sniff_

It wasn't until Rini caught her eye and mouthed _"Are you feeling O.K.?"_ that it dawned on her the reason for the unwanted attention.

She nodded. _sniff_

She was fine. Sure, her mind was randomly traveling, she was distracted. And she had some flu-like symptoms, just a little bit. Oh, and her body was radiating enough heat to be considered a small sun, just a small one mind you... She was fine.

She rubbed her eyes again.

She had never been seriously sick and this, whatever it was, would soon be over. It was really no big deal, besides she needed to keep an eye on Rini and make sure she was O.K. _sniff_

Never had anyone been in so much denial as our young heir was at this very moment.

When Ms. Ishikawa walked towards her, the young heir was sure she was going to be reprimanded. 'I have nothing to do with the class' behavior', she was prepared to say. But she was surprised when a worried Ishikawa-sensei placed a hand on her shoulder while the other one carefully moved the hair out of the young heir's eyes.

"Go to the nurse's office." She said gently.

The young heir wanted to protest. There was no reason to send her to the nurse's office. She was fine! _sniff_ Fine. Really...

Still, for Ms. Ishikawa, she stood up without so much as a scowl.

She shuffled her feet towards the door when she felt Ms. Ishikawa tap her shoulder with one hand while the other one held her backpack and bento. She took them and scanned the room once more, all eyes were on her now that the teacher had singled her out. She noticed Rini waving at her, sporting a worried look. The young heir managed a small smile and a nod at her friend (a quiet assurance that everything was fine) before she left the room.

She walked towards the nurse's office. Each labored step marking the decline of her health. Her thoughts were beginning to jumble. She could feel the pressure creeping through her nasal passages only to stop at her tear ducts causing her eyes to water though only enough to give them a shiny gloss. She rubbed them as if the mere movement could clear her thoughts along with the watery eye sensation.

She seriously considered kicking Yoshiro's ass for making her sick. _sniff_

_'...measles...', _she thought while the nurse prodded her.

The nurse murmured to herself and wrote some things down. This was followed by more prodding before she gave the child a Tylenol for the fever and headed to the phone.

The young heir studied her with amused interest. She hadn't seen anyone that nervous since the first time Principal Takeda saw her grandfather. She smirked.

The nurse hesitated then paced around the room muttering to herself only to end back at the phone, her hand hovering over the receiver. She knew it was ridiculous to feel this nervous. After all, it wasn't her fault this child was ill. Her fears were unfounded. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and called Kuroda. All the while the young heir watched and waited in quiet amusement. _sniff_

She was sure (though quite mistaken) that her little escapade to check on Yoshiro had been the reason she was sick and currently in the nurse's office.

_"Consequences for your actions."_ She muttered to herself her parents' lesson.

It seemed, to her, the consequences of her actions were generally dire. Although in the grand scheme of things her getting sick was more along the lines of unpleasant predicament rather than dire situation especially when compared to her parents' death or almost losing her pinky. She absent-mindedly raised her left hand and looked at the small scar holding her left pinky in a fibrous embrace.

She remembered she had prepared herself for unbearable pain when she clutched the kaiken in her little hands. However, when the knife broke flesh, the pain had been so dull that she could have sworn she was watching someone else's finger being cut. Not being squeamish, she looked on with detached curiosity as the kaiken in her hand gently rocked back and forth over her finger. It had seemed incongruous that the blood gushing in copious amounts was accompanied by such a dull pain. Throughout all this, she didn't cry out though some time after the cut was made and the kumi scrambled around to bandage her hand, she curiously noted her cheeks were wet and she couldn't even remember shedding those tears...

She hoped her grandfather or Kyou-san would arrive soon. She was cold and she felt weak, drained of all energy. She wanted to sleep. _sniff_

-o-

The Kuroda Boss and Kyou headed hastily to the school. All Kyou could think on the way over was the first time Ojou had gone to see Dr. Hayashida.

It had been hard trying to keep the finger from being completely severed. Bandaging it had proven to be something close to impossible as he had tried to keep the finger from bleeding. And the blood... Oh the blood!... There had been so much of it (like an open faucet with no end in sight) and she was so little, he had half worried that she'd die from blood loss. He shuddered at the recollection. He only hoped there weren't any similarities between that incident and today's...

When Kuroda and Kyou arrived at the school, they were met by Ms. Ishikawa who immediately escorted them to the nurse's office. No words were exchanged but no words were needed. To the untrained eye Kuroda looked calm, but Ms. Ishikawa knew better. This was the most ill-at-ease she had seen Kuroda-san.

During the times she had called him regarding the lil' pixie (a nickname her sister came up with after all the stories she heard of Kumiko-chan's impish playfulness mixed in with a small dose of naiveté) she had caught glimpses of Kuroda-san's moods. She had seen him calm, barely able to contain a threat, irritated, and amused. Though she must admit it was mostly amused which frustrated Principal Takeda to no end. This face, however, she had never seen before.

Ooshima-san, on the other hand, was easier to read. In her experience, he tended to _wear_ his feelings openly and without reservations. Thus, Ooshima-san was (to the trained and untrained eye) a bundle of nerves.

She eyed him on the sly. She found it curious that his involvement in the yakuza hadn't damaged his more sentimental nature. This caused the corners of her mouth to twitch as a smile fought to emerge. She bit her lower lip to bully the smile into submission and fixed her stare ahead. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the nurse's office.

As soon as they entered, Kyou visibly paled at the sight of a sick Ojou while a very nervous nurse took the Kuroda Boss aside in order to explain the situation. Ms. Ishikawa chose to remain in the back of the room watching.

_Ah-choo!_ Young Ojou covered her mouth as she sneezed. She then wiped her hands on her school uniform.

Kyou eyed the young heir. This time there was no blood. There were no open wounds. He didn't know if to be thankful or worried. He squatted down and inadvertently touched her germ-laden hands, noticing her fever.

At some point Kyou heard the nurse advising the Boss to take the child to her regular pediatrician. Instinctively, he covered his mouth with one of his hands (germs finding a new host) trying to stifle a snivel. After all, in the yakuza, a trip to the doctor meant something was seriously wrong as they were not prone to go for regular check-ups nor for minor aches.

The Kuroda Boss assured the nurse he'd take Ojou to see the family doctor. Kyou grimaced, tightening the grip he had on the shoulders of a very stunned Ojou who wondered what was wrong with Kyou-san.

Ms. Ishikawa rolled her eyes in amusement. She was sure the man would suffer a heart attack if he continued like that. It just wasn't healthy. She looked at the Kuroda Boss who hadn't noticed his underling's discomfited demeanor as he continued talking with the school nurse. Still, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for the man-child in front of her as he was trying really hard not to cry. She leaned in and murmured in his ear, _"Calm down. She'll be fine." _Gently, she tried to pry his hands off young Ojou's shoulders.

He loosened his grip on Ojou, then rubbed his eyes. When he looked at Ms. Ishikawa, she smiled kindly at him while she rubbed Ojou's shoulders and said, "Children get measles. Besides, Kumiko-chan has a strong constitution. The likelihood of complications is minimal." What Ms. Ishikawa didn't know was that Kyou was not aware Ojou had measles. He never heard when the nurse told the Kuroda Boss.

_'Measles... no complications'_. He visibly relaxed at the thought and nodded in agreement.

The grandfather gave them a passing glance, a thought scurried like a rat only to hide in the shadows of his subconscious. He grabbed young Ojou's hand and started heading to the car.

With a backward glance at Kyou he said, "Call the doctor."

-o-

The doctor's cell rang. He took it out of his pocket and leisurely looked at the number displayed. It was Ooshima-san. He wasn't surprised. After all 67 percent of his calls involved the Kuroda clan.

He flipped the cell open and heard Ooshima-san speak. As usual, he was brief and to the point. Ojou was ill and he was to expect them shortly. He refrained from asking the nature of the illness this time around.

"Understood", he replied. He flipped his cell close and patiently waited for them to arrive.

Dr. Makoto Hayashida, the Kuroda clan's family doctor, remembered when the Kuroda Boss informed him about the new addition to the family. He was concerned especially considering he had last treated a child when he was still an intern. He had wondered if he was up to the task.

He usually thought of his... _practice _as a M.A.S.H. unit. His unit was mobile meaning that he would treat them in his home office or wherever they were when the injuries were more life threatening. But what gave his... practice the M.A.S.H. unit feel was his tendency to make strictly _last minute repairs_. The kind of repairs that were life or death and definitely NOT of the accidental variety, repairs that a regular doctor might need to report to the police.

So the prospect of this new addition to the family would be a nice change of pace for him. _'She'd probably get chicken pox or mumps.' _He hadn't seen one of those childhood diseases in a long time. He'd have to have vaccines at hand for that first checkup. He'd also have to brush up on childhood ailments. _'It would be nice to treat a simple ear infection once in awhile.' _He had thought nostalgically.

Not only that but he was aware his bedside manner had suffered due to the contact with his only client: the Kuroda clan. After all, he was the only person who could order the Kuroda Boss to stay in bed without fear of repercussions. And it wouldn't do to weakly tell him what he and the kumi needed to do to get back on their feet. So, he had to face each of their posturing with one of his own if he wanted them to take him seriously.

For all his ruminating about treating someone for something less gory and that needed discretion, imagine his surprise when the first time he saw the young Kuroda heir she was in need of one of those _last minute repairs _of which the kumi were usually in need.

_'How can a child be suffering from pinky... failure?'_, was the only thought in Dr Hayashida's mind at the time.

When Kyou had set her down, she had looked around the room. The incongruity of such angelic face with such methodical scrutiny of the room had been a little creepy. Her eyes were not those of a child filled with wonderment (as children's eyes tend to be). Her eyes, Dr Hayashida pondered, were filled with diluted awe and mild skepticism all confined in a cute little face. This had made Dr. Hayashida nervous. _'I guess my bedside manner might not need to be softened up much'_, he had mused.

He chuckled as he recalled the disappointment in her voice when he had explained that the scar might fade away when she grew older.

"Aw, I wanted to have a scar so I could be just like Kyou", he recalled her saying.

He could only imagine what this second visit was all about...

-o-

Dr. Hayashida was pleasantly surprised when he saw the child and confirmed the school nurse's diagnosis: Ojou had measles. The doctor was secretly delighted. _'A case of measles.'_ He was almost giddy, really. _'No gashes, no bullet holes, no broken bones... just plain ol' measles.'_ O.K. so measles was not something that you'd want someone to get particularly in an area where close to half of the population was not vaccinated or had only gotten one of the vaccines. And, the chances of it turning into an epidemic (not to mention the chance of complications arising) were real. But it was so ordinary that he couldn't help but smile to himself before turning his attention to the waiting kumi.

Hayashida-sensei, now used to kumi presence, gently admonished the Kuroda Boss for not having brought the child earlier to get vaccinated. In a rare scene of surrender coming from the Kuroda Boss, he quietly promised to bring her for regular check-ups once the child got over the measles. For now there was nothing the doctor could do. He ordered bedrest and plenty of fluids. He pointed out to not hesitate in calling him should complications arise and added a strong warning against Ojou being in contact with people who've never had measles and who've not been immunized. This statement brought about the realization that a good third of the Kuroda kumi might be in the list of people that should stay away from Ojou. This list included Kyou-san.

Thus the Boss and Kyou spent most of the evening getting in touch with the kumi that would not be allowed to come to the house until the young heir was no longer contagious, and Kyou asked Wakamatsu if he could stay with him.

-o-

_The following day (Saturday) in the Kuroda household... _

The young heir had spent most of the day in sweet delirium...

"Ojou..." He re-wet the small towel and wrung it.

"Ojou..." He placed the small towel on her forehead and waited for a response.

"Grandpa" Her head was swimming as her weak voice called out. "The room is spinning." She said with eyes glossed over the ceiling attempting to watch her reality as it span and pulsed.

_"I know." _He muttered as he placed the small towel against her cheeks to try to help reduce the fever.

Within her delirium, the grandfather had attempted to give the young heir some instructions.

"You see this medical face mask?" He placed it in her line of vision seeing as her eyes seemed to lack the ability to focus.

"Hey, grandpa! The room is spinning!" She repeated again.

"I know. Try to look at what I have in my hand." He tried again to get her attention.

Trapped in a Dali painting, her world lay in disarray as random bits and pieces languidly softened and melted and faded before her eyes.

She looked in awe at the room until she noticed her grandfather moving his lips. The words were muffled, distorted and garbled as if her head had been submerged underwater. She gathered he was trying to tell her something. She tried to focus on her grandfather who looked at her worriedly as he continued speaking.

"Ojou put this on when you walk around the house." She noticed the item in his hands.

"Ooh face mask", she said trying to reach for it but reaching 5 inches to the right instead.

He instructed her once more to wear the medical face mask if she needed to walk around the house.

"Aah... like a ninja!"

"Nononono"

He tried explaining that there were a lot of people that had not had measles before and she wouldn't want to get them infected.

"Just one touch could be deadly."

"Yeah... like a ninja." She affirmed though her eyes widened as she marveled at all the power she now held. The grandfather gave up trying to explain.

"What about you?" She asked concerned for his safety now that she had these... _ninja powers._

He started explaining how he had already had measles and he was immune to it when the young heir focused her attention towards the bedroom entrance. The grandfather looked but saw no one. Turning his attention back to the young Kuroda, he was startled by her next statement.

"Hello mom" She said to... no one. The grandfather took the small towel from her forehead hoping her fever would lower soon. He didn't like these hallucinations she was experiencing.

"Is dad coming also?" She asked her _mother_. A strange memory of a grandmother came to mind and she asked her grandfather, "Do you think grandma will come as well?" The grandfather re-wet the small towel and wrung it.

_"Your fever is too high."_ He placed the small wet towel on her forehead avoiding the question all together. _"Now, rest."_

In the evening Kyou returned. Apparently he'd forgotten to pack a gun. He sat on the edge of his bed considering which one to take.

It was this thought that was interrupted by the young heir slowly walking into his room, medical face mask in hand. She attempted to put the medical mask on without much success.

"Ojou, what are you doing up? You should be in bed resting!" Kyou-san said, concern in his voice, while he watched her fiddling with the mask.

"Kyou-san, what are you doing in the bathroom?" She said finally behind the mask as she staggered towards him.

"This is my room, Ojou." He tried to explain to the young hallucinating Kuroda who seemed to be looking for the toilet seat somewhere in his room as if it had gone up and hidden itself and it was her task to find it. He looked on for awhile, arms folded across his chest, as she searched his room for the elusive toilet until he realized she wasn't going to give up any time soon. Afraid that she might just pick a spot as the commode, he said "Let me show you where the bathroom is." He sighed. "Right after I grab a gun." He was about to turn around when the young Kuroda stopped suddenly.

"Kyou-san?" He remained seated and looked at her.

"Hmm?"

"I'm a ninja."

"...huh?"

Seeing his confusion, she simply pointed to the mask. He figured she meant the medical face mask made her look like a ninja. So, he nodded and went back to the task of choosing which gun to take with him. Unfortunately, the young... _ninja _took advantage of his distraction and tip-toed towards him.

Once he decided on the gun, he grabbed it and he proceeded to place it inside the waist of the back of his pants. However, before he could stand up, she used The Sleeper on him. Of course, Kyou-san collapsed on the spot. The young _ninja_ crouched down near his face.

Taking her face mask off, she leaned into Kyou-san's ear and said _"See? ...ninja", _bits of saliva sprayed on the unconscious Kyou-san.

With that, she stood up and attempted to run away from the prone form of one Kyoutarou Ooshima. Sadly, this turned into a staggered zigzagging motion more drunken-bee than ninja-stealth.

-o-

On Sunday, the young heir's fever had abated but she was still laid up in bed weak and uncomfortable. A few of the villagers came to visit the young Kuroda offering homemade remedies to shorten the duration, stop the progression or lessen the symptoms of any illness (or so Kuroda's Kumichou was told). Some of these were more unusual than others.

The few kumi who were allowed to see her gathered by the door of her room saying silent prayers and hanging a variety of charms to aid in healing. The kumi had been so disturbed by the young heir's languor that every groan and stir from young Ojou was followed by the kumi clucking and fussing over her.

Toru, being a bit musical, brought a beaten up old ukulele with him and played a few songs for her. In a rare instance, amidst her aches and pains, she smiled. Toru left the beaten up old ukulele for her as a present.

-o-

_On Monday..._

Sibilant tones meandered throughout the house and buoyed up to the second floor where the young heir lay. She woke up and for a second she considered whether the buzz was reality based or fever induced. The young heir shook her head trying to shake the buzzing away convinced that it was due to the pressure in her ears. She pinched her nose and blew air through it to try to release the pressure. The familiar pop only made the now polite whispers slightly more discernible.

It was then she noticed Rini standing by the door holding a green stuffed toy.

Rini's pointed stare prompted young Ojou to say, "Am I dead?"

Rini, visibly nonplussed by young Ojou's sudden waking, took a step back. The young heir sat up while she rubbed her eyes and patiently waited for Rini to reply. Though part of her strained an ear towards the careless whispers drifting around.

It took several seconds for Rini to find her voice. When she did, she said, "I j-just wanted to see how y-you were doing." She entered the room slowly clutching the green stuffed toy tighter to her chest.

Rini had been obviously worried about the health of her petite friend.

"As you can see I'm doing much better." She smirked and waved a hand dismissively. Rini smiled.

"Here. This is for you." Rini extended her arms offering the green stuffed toy to her.

"Hmm." She eyed the toy suspiciously and asked, "What's it supposed to be?" She grabbed the green _thing_ living in a trash can.

"It's Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street."

"I've never seen him on Sesame Street." The young heir studied the clam-like face with no nose, the bushy brows and the four-fingered hands of this Oscar fellow. The more she looked at it the more familiar it seemed. She smiled to herself.

"They don't seem to have him in the Japanese version of Sesame Street." Rini ruffled the fur on its face and said, "Somehow I thought you'd like him. I really don't know why."

Rini then tried to explain who Oscar was.

Young Ojou half-listened as she was a bit distracted by the hushed voices which she now recognized as her grandfather talking with Rini's mother. His controlled and methodical whispers were offset by the questioning, slightly demanding, tones of Ms. Ishimaru's voice.

She turned her attention back to Rini who by now was studying her with measured curiosity.

"Ah... sorry!" She headed towards the dresser were the whispers had turned to chilled tones making her stop in mid-step.

_"Do you hear that?"_ She managed to say. She listened for a couple of seconds more. Rini cocked an ear.

"Yep. My mom is talking with your grandpa" What young Rini failed to notice was the subtle nuances in the tones emitted.

The young heir, ignoring the quizzical look on Rini's face, resumed her walk to the dresser and set the stuffed toy on top of it.

_"Um... Never mind..."_ Young Ojou decided to change the subject. It was then she noticed Rini hadn't been banned from her room.

"Don't tell me you're sick also? Although..." She gave Rini and assessing look. "You really don't look sick at all..." Her voice trailed off as she strained to listen to the now tense tones.

"Nah. I was vaccinated." Rini assured the young heir.

Ojou nodded absently as she cocked her head to the side in the direction of the whispers. Walking outside her room, she motioned for Rini to follow her.

"What's going on?", Rini said.

_"Shh"_ The young Kuroda raised a forefinger to her lips and pointed to her ear then pointed in the direction where the voices were coming from. Rini cocked an ear only to hear a concerned voice followed by an unyielding one.

Both children peered their heads down the stairs only to be caught by Rini's mother who cloaked her obstinacy with a saccharine smile as she said, "Ah, Rini. It's time to go." Looking at the young heir she said, "I hope you feel better soon."

Lisa Ishimaru had worried that the children might overhear the conversation she was having with Kuroda-san. This was the reason why she had positioned herself with a good view of the stairs, and every once in a while she'd steal a glance at it to make sure they weren't there.

She was touched by Kuroda's concern for her and her family, but she wasn't going to let the Kataguri dictate what she would write about. It went against everything she believed. Though in the back of her mind she wondered how much protection she could get from the police. After all, they were going to be in Japan for 2 more years (not including this year). She won't look for trouble but she won't hide from it either.

She bowed at the Kuroda Boss and with the same saccharine smile that didn't reach her eyes, she said "Thank you for your concern but it is my decision."

The Kuroda Boss' irritation was cloaked by an impassive demeanor. He gave a small nod to Ishimaru-san and showed them to the door leaving the young heir to wonder what the heck was that all about.

-o-

_Later that Monday..._

All their careful planning to keep the spread to a minimum was fruitless as they had ignored Kyou's contact with Ojou four days ago, when they picked her up from school.

So, this is how on the fourth day of Ojou's stay home, Kyou got measles. Wakamatsu had been vaccinated as a young boy but his wife, Chie, had never been vaccinated nor had she ever had it. Worried that she would get it prompted Wakamatsu to send Kyou back to the Kuroda house...

"Kyou-san" She poked him a few times. Kyou was unresponsive. She noticed he had a high fever. She went to her room and got a stuffed toy. When she came back, she climbed on top of him and with her thumb and index, she pried one of his eyes open.

"Kyou-san", she intoned.

"Wha-wha-what?!" He tried to sit up but groaned and stayed lying down.

"Here. This will keep you company." She showed him the stuffed toy she had in her hand.

"Who's this?"

"Oscar The Grouch. Rini gave it to me." She gave the muppet the once-over and said, "Apparently in American Sesame Street there's a yakuza resident. The Grouch clan must own that area though I don't know who's their Kumichou." She turned the muppet to face Kyou-san.

"Really?" Kyou-san marveled at the open-mindedness of American people. He had heard stories of the U.S. government really tightening the screws to get rid of yakuza infiltration in the U.S. But if what Ojou said was true, then (maybe) those stories he had heard were just rumors. _'Who knows?!'_

"Are you sure he's a kumi?" He asked. Sure Sesame Street was a fictitious place but to have a fictitious clan taking such good care of it was really good PR for the yakuza.

She picked up one of the furry hands. "See his hand? If that ain't yubitsume I don't know what is!" Kyou-san nodded at the four fingered furry stuffed toy.

"Have a yucky day!" She said (gruffly) hiding behind the stuffed toy and moving it with her hands in the best imitation of Oscar The Grouch she could muster. Kyou had to laugh at the crotchety imitaton of the muppet which reminded him of a few kumi.

-o-

_Tuesday..._

The school had announced week-long closures to prevent any further spread. Yoshiro, not yet over his measles, took this opportunity to sneak out of the house to go visit Ojou...

"I told you you'd get sick."

"You should just be glad I'm not kicking your ass right now." She folded her arms across her chest and (leaning back in her chair) she smirked. He eyed her suspiciously.

He knew she didn't mean it. All the same he took a step back.

"Sounds like you're feeling better already if you can throw a few threats." She unfolded her arms and stood up with a bored expression causing him to relax and look around her room.

This was the second time he had been in her room. The first time being that time last year (in 3rd grade) when they played Hide And Seek.

He had expected it to be frilly like his sister's room. He should have known better. What he found was a very ordinary room. The only indication the room belonged to a child were the few animal stuffed toys here and there.

Her room hadn't changed much in a year. The only exception were the additions of an old ukulele leaning on the side of the dresser and a plastic doll whose body parts lay scattered about her bed as if to make an example to the other toys.

"What's with the dismembered dolly?"

"Uncle Kousuke gave her to me." She picked up a plastic leg and squeezed it.

"Uh-huh..." He cocked an eyebrow. "Why'd ya kill it?"

"I just wanted to see what it looked like inside." She took the dolly's head and showed him. "Can you believe that is how they put hair on the head of a doll?" She said in awe.

He looked inside and marveled. "That's weird!"

"This doll is just hollow inside but Rini's mom once told us how, when she was little, she used to have one that ate _and_ pooped." Both children grimaced at the word pooped. She couldn't understand how wiping some doll's ass constituted a game but different people... "I wish she still had it." She smiled.

"Why the interest in the doll? I thought you thought it was disgusting!"

"It is, it is! But... could you imagine if we could slice her open?" She gesticulated the motion with her hands as she said it.

"And why'd _we_ wanna do that?" He emphasized the _we_ in open sarcasm.

"To see how it works, of course!"

"Hmm I don't think her mom would have been too happy if we had performed surgery on her doll." He said seriously though secretly wondering what they could have found.

"I suppose you're right." She said a bit disappointed. It would have been great to find out. Of course, it was all a moot argument as Lisa Ishimaru currently didn't own said doll.

"Did your uncle Kousuke see you kill the doll?" He pointed at the plastic remains.

"It's not dead... just incapacitated." She smirked. "I can put her back together in a minute." She looked at the remains and added, "I just don't want to."

Yoshiro didn't question any further. He recognized the finality in Ojou's voice when he heard it.

"O-okay..." He eyed her suspiciously before regaling her with stories of how he'd snuck out of the house past Meiko. This was followed by the children comparing rashes, trying to determine whose was more disgusting. Yoshiro won this unusual competition because (even though Ojou's rash was beginning while Yoshiro's was fading away giving them each equal coverage) Yoshiro's was peeling giving him that extra _eew_ factor. The young heir's only response to the peeling effect was a long-drawn "...coool".

Unfortunately the young heir was not allowed to play outside yet. Thus, they entertained themselves with TV and video games until boredom settled in.

"There's nothing to do!" The young heir stood up. "Let's go see Kyou-san."

Young Ojou grabbed Yoshiro by the wrist and dragged him into Kyou's room without waiting for his response.

Yoshiro let himself be dragged because that was all one could do when _Kumichou _got an idea in her head.

The first thing he saw when they entered Kyou's room was Kyou's prone form lying on his side, facing the door, tightly cocooned in a comforter. His mouth hung slightly open, spit dribbling down on a green stuffed toy of a... a... a thing. Thing was the best word he could use to describe it. Not an animal nor a person... a thing.

She crouched down and motioned for Yoshiro to follow suit. Slowly, they crept towards Kyou's bed and rose themselves enough so that their eyes were leveled to the edge of the bed like gators cruising the water looking for prey.

_"You don't think he'll wake up?"_ Yoshiro eyed the sleeping form with apprehension.

_"Maybe..." _Young Ojou said studying Kyou-san's face. _"Do you think we can put some tissues in his nose without waking him?"_

Yoshiro thought for a second before answering, _"I think we'd have a better chance if we try to put them in his mouth."_ He pointed to Kyou's mouth to show the opening to be wider.

The young heir crawled under the bed where she thought she had seen a box of tissues that time she briefly hid in Kyou-san's room. Unfortunately, she had been mistaken. There were only rolls of paper towels under the bed. She looked on top of the dresser and found the box of tissues. She gave a handful to Yoshiro and took a handful herself. She twirled one of the tissues to make it stiff.

_"Whoever wakes him up, loses."_ The young Kuroda heir laid down the lone rule of the _game_. Yoshiro nodded determined not to lose.

She inched the tissue towards Kyou-san's nostril being careful to keep her hand steady. Yoshiro watched expectantly, eyes unable to blink as young Ojou successfully inserted the very tip of the tissue she was holding. Trying really hard not to touch the edges of his nostril she proceeded to push the tissue in a bit further but her hand wasn't as steady in such a small opening. It tickled his nose. He snorted moving the hand that was clutching Oscar to swat away whatever was tickling him. The children giggled softly. Yes, even Ojou.

It was Yoshiro's turn. He prepared his tissue and carefully moved his hand towards Kyou's mouth. Kyou snorted again causing a good sized piece of tissue to be sucked into his mouth. Instinctively he smacked his tongue wetting the tissue inside his mouth and causing it to break off. The piece of tissue, now stuck to Kyou's tongue, made him unconsciously smack it every once in awhile. The children looked at each other and grinned stifling the laughter building inside.

The young heir was about to try again to insert the tissue in Kyou's nostril when a brilliant idea came to her. _'Why not stick it in his ear?' _She pointed to Kyou's ear and looked at Yoshiro in silent question. Yoshiro shook his head from side to side. _"Ears are very sensitive, he'll definitely wake up. You'll lose the game."_ But young Ojou rarely listened and she proceeded to slowly stick the tissue into his ear. This time Kyou slapped it away or more to the point slapped himself waking up in the process.

"What are you kids doing here?" His voice was hoarse, his mind was confused and disoriented.

The children instinctively hid the tissues behind their backs. The young heir kicked the box of tissues under the bed. In unison, they said "Nothing."

He felt something strange in his mouth... cottony... _'Odd'_, he thought. He was sick, there was no way he drank anything. He smacked his tongue. But there it was the cottony feeling of one who had indulged in too much alcohol. It wasn't until the cottony texture moved about in his mouth that he realized it was not a hangover. There was something actually in his mouth. He smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth several times and tried pushing the extraneous object out to no avail. The children looked on in silent amusement. He stuck his tongue out and tried to grab the elusive thing with his fingers but he kept missing it. It wasn't until he spit that it finally came out. He looked at the children accusingly.

"How're ya feelin'?" Young Ojou shoved the tissues that were in her hand into Yoshiro's hand much like a magician's sleight of hands. It went unnoticed by Kyou-san.

"Like death." She clambered onto his bed and touched his forehead.

"Only a bit of a fever." She grinned. Yoshiro kept a respectful distance from the bed. Surreptitiously, he looked for a trash can where he could dispose of the..._evidence_.

"You guys shouldn't be here."

"We are immune now." The young heir informed him. "You have no power over us."

"Is that so?" He attempted to sit up but was too weak and dizzy and only managed to prop himself up on his elbows. The young heir pushed Kyou-san on the shoulder to get him to lie down. He acquiesced with a groan and a big thud.

The Kuroda Boss peered through the door.

"C'mon children. Let Kyou rest."

-o-

Of course, things would have been fine if Kyou had been the only one infected.

When news of Kyou falling ill reached Club Yasue, the girls were concerned the club might be quarantined seeing as Kyou was a regular customer and the likelihood some of the girls had been infected was high.

Chie was not happy. She tried to keep the club open by quarantining the girls that had _entertained _Kyou (to their chagrin). Things seemed to be running smoothly until Chie herself fell ill leaving her with no other choice but to close down the club. Unfortunately, not before a few of the girls had_ entertained _some of the kumi (from several clans) while unknowingly infected. And like a domino-effect kumi after kumi fell ill.

The Kuroda Boss had graciously opened his home to the sick Kuroda kumi. That is until he ran out of places to put them prompting him to consider adding two or three extra rooms in the near future.

Everywhere you looked it was an upchuck of futons and infected kumi in different degrees of infection. Even poor Tsuji got measles and he couldn't have looked more pathetic as he groggily sat on a futon, shirtless, like a scowling Buddha. His tattooed belly donning the clustered measles rash making it look like a terrestrial globe showing topography. Young Ojou, in amused disbelief at the sight, manhandled_ the globe_ as if she was trying to find where Japan was. Kuroda smiled as he watched Tsuji patiently enduring the indignity of having his rash-riddled belly patted and traced by the little hands of a very curious Ojou.

It was a nice distraction from the latest developments within the yakuza. He was currently at a loss on what to do with Lisa Ishimaru and the Kataguri clan. As if that wasn't enough, the clan's operation had come to a crawl. Kuroda's manpower had been reduced to a skeleton crew (not that he had much with which to begin). The clan was vulnerable like a newborn babe all soft and fleshy and unable to move. And it was this vulnerability which the Urufu No Omo's Kumichou, Naoki Higuchi, sought to exploit.

According to Higuchi-san, Kuroda was trying to upset the power balance within the yakuza. Moreover, Higuchi-san pointed out that he wouldn't be surprised if Kuroda had purposely infected some of his kumi in order to accomplish this. Kuroda and his allies almost laughed at the suggestion but the spread of measles among several kumi from a few of the clans, crippling their operation, had some giving credence to Higuchi-san's claims (as preposterous as they were). Sitting through talk after talk after talk had only gotten everyone increasingly frustrated.

Thus, this was the beginning of the _Kuroda-measles-crisis_ where the clans, fearing _measles deployment_, reached a deadlock. Kuroda only hoped things will get back to normal once everyone gets over their measles; otherwise, he would be forced to take permanent measures against Higuchi-san and the Urufu No Omo.

For now, being here with his _family _was definitely a diversion from more serious matters. He looked on as his sick underlings groaned while Ojou passed a damp cloth on the forehead of a few of them. It was a nice distraction indeed. Several minutes later he noticed she left only to come back with her ukulele trying to sing a song with the only chord Toru had taught her. He wondered if this constituted more torture than caring as Ojou, he found out, could not carry a tune let alone play the damn thing. He sighed.

* * *

_A/N_:  
_1._ Measles symptoms and treatment taken from http/body .aol. com/conditions/measles-rubeola/.  
_2._ Yubitsume - removal of finger joints by the Yakuza  
_3_. Dali - Not all of Dali's paintings are as I have described them but those are the ones for which most people know him.  
_4_. No, I don't own Oscar the Grouch nor do I think Oscar the Grouch is a kumi or affiliated in any way, shape or form to a yakuza clan. I love Oscar the Grouch and wished they'd put him in more episodes on Sesame Street. I just thought it was not inconceivable to have a Japanese person think he was a kumi since I read several articles where there were problems introducing Bob The Builder to Japanese television because his four-fingered hands scared the children. They apparently thought he was in the yakuza. Hahaha I found that completely hilarious. I think they might have resolved it by adding a 5th finger.  
_5_. The baby that eats and poops was a doll called BabyAlive from hasbro which came out in 2006 or 2007. I thought about giving Rini the doll but Rini and Ojou could not be 9 in 2006 nor 2007. Apparently the doll had been out in 1973 (according to the hasbro site http/www. hasbro. com/babyalive/) so it seems more feasible that Rini's mother had it. I don't really get the idea behind the doll. Shrugs... different people... I guess.  
_6_. As you may have guess there is a little parody there at the end. I actually wanted to make it a chapter in itself but I am tired of writing about measles. This is the end of age 9. Next chapter will be age 10. Woo-hoo!


	16. Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double

_A/N_: -?- Indicates the beginning and end of a flashback. The title comes from Pokemon. Grimaces. I like it though (the title, I mean). I do admit that, for some strange reason, I like team rocket. (Edited 04/18 - 3 sentences changed)

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

_**Prepare For Trouble, And Make It Double**_ _(age 10)_

Recess has always been a debatable issue amongst adults whether you talk to parents, teachers, school administrators, the government. You name it, everyone has a take on what should or should not happen to recess. Most schools nowadays have done away with recess. But, what is recess really? Recess is a break period where children are free to choose what to do and with whom. It is this freedom that seems to be at the core of the debate. Oh, they disguise it with arguments about the amount of time spent learning, disruption of the learning process, and safety and liability. In reality it is the fear of children in control of their own time or the desire for children to be in control of their own time, depending on which side you argue, that drives this argument full steam. How much can a child do in this free time? If the child is the heir of a yakuza clan then plenty...

-o-

Hideki Matsuzaka's shop, The Hub, had a small aisle dedicated to international candies. It wasn't like this aisle would ever be confused with gourmet candies from around the world. To get the gourmet kind of international candies you needed to go to specialty shops, and The Hub was anything but a specialty shop. But it was among the assorted treats in The Hub that Rini found pixy stix.

Now, Rini Ishimaru loved pixy stix, and she would periodically buy some at The Hub. This purchase was always carefully monitored by Lisa Ishimaru (understandable seeing as pure sugar is never good for a young child). The only reason Lisa allowed her to have a bigger supply here in Japan as opposed to the States was the nostalgia associated with it, the sense of home away from home, the unspoken promise that they'll go back. Her husband, would teasingly point out the oddity in her claim that pixy stix were edible nostalgic treats when some people (if not most) described the sugary confection as something akin to crack. Lisa's usual response was feign annoyance.

So it was in one of those times that Rini needed to restock her supply when she invited the young heir to walk with her on her pixy run. Afterwards, she offered young Ojou a few pixy stix.

The young heir was surprised at the slight tartness mixed in with sweetness the moment the colored-flavored-powdered sugar touched her tongue. She decided she liked them once her salivary glands went into overdrive in anticipation of ingesting the sweet colored powder. She was hooked the moment it hit her blood stream giving her a mild sense of euphoria.

Afraid that her grandfather would ration the flavored powdered sugar, she used to eat them at school like contraband. Her stash, like Rini's,l came from Hideki Matsuzaka's shop. This was the closest place that sold the candy and (as far as she knew) the _only_ place.

Matsuzaka-san was wary about the young heir's visits. He wondered what these visits meant to the Kuroda Boss and how that would affect him and his shop. This is the reason why he always gave the young child a considerable discount whenever she came.

The first time she got the discount she was puzzled but considering the large quantities of pixy stix she was buying, she was not complaining.

When her classmates saw her pouring pixy stix after pixy stix down her throat, they wanted some. And once her schoolmates found out about the powdered sugar treat, they wanted some as well. At first she just gave a few away but with the surprising popularity of the treat, she had to ask for a form of compensation.

Rini suspected the popularity of the candy was due to the addictive nature of the treat.

"What addictive nature?", young Ojou asked, the telltale signs of a scarfed down pixy stix was evident by the colored powder sprinkled all over her mouth and cheeks.

Yoshiro, however, thought the popularity was mostly by association.

"You know that if you start picking your nose in front of people, they might not want to shake your hand, but they're gonna think it's cool. Some of them might even try to do it in public themselves."

"You think so?" She eyed him dubiously nonetheless she was about to stick her right forefinger in one of her nostrils. Rini stopped her.

"Kumiko-chan, that's gross!" Yoshiro, however, continued encouraging young Ojou, to Rini's disgust.

"What Rini? You don't believe me?! Wanna bet?"

Thinking a bet had been made, the young heir moved her forefinger once more in order to shove it up her nostril, and once again Rini played defense and blocked the finger from young Kumiko's nostril.

"We're not betting anything. Don't listen to him Kumichou!" Glaring at Yoshiro, she added, "You. Are. Sooo. Gross!"

Of course, Ms. Ishikawa noticed the brief surge of energy of her students which quickly dissipated within a span of two hours. Not only was her classroom disrupted but this behavior had spread to several classrooms. Two weeks of constant disruptions (always after recess) caused Satomi Ishikawa to investigate. She had the strong suspicion that the young heir was involved, but she needed to have concrete proof.

It took her three days to uncover the mystery.

"So you confiscated the stash?!" Satomi's sister, Rie Ishikawa, couldn't stop herself from laughing when Satomi told her the reason behind the students' strange behavior.

"Well, I had to! You should have seen the children in their seats all jittery and jumpy." She imitated the jittery moves making Rie laugh even harder.

The child was nowhere near what Rie had imagined and she was glad she had been wrong... mostly for her sister's sake.

"I suppose it's only fitting that the lil' pixie is dealing pixy stix." Rie chortled. She looked at her sister from across the dining table and mused out loud, "Is it against school regulations for her to be selling her stash in school?"

Satomi ran her fingers through her hair as she sighed loudly.

"Actually, she said that the money is not given to her in exchange for the pixy stix. It is only a _donation_ for her dedication in bringing the candy. And she said it with a straight lil' face." Rie was now laughing so hard she was on the verge of tears. "Hey, stop that!" Satomi said clearly dispirited.

"I'm sorry." Rie tried to contain her laughter seeing Satomi's defeated attitude.

"Uh-huh." Satomi lay her forehead on the dining table, her eyes closed.

"What did you say to her?" Rie asked as she poked her.

_"What could I say? I just tried to explain how the sugar rush from the __pixy stix__ is disrupting the class. I also told her she'd get back her stash after class, and if she really wanted to take donations she'd need to conduct such business after school." _She mumbled into the dining table. Her shoulder length hair fell to cover her face.

"Did you talk to her grandfather?" Rie brushed Satomi's hair away and placed it behind her ear.

"I wanted to... I really did. But... what am I going to say that would convince him to take me seriously? The man's view of life is..." She turned her head to look at her sister letting the pained look on her face finish her sentence.

"hm... screwed up?" Rie finished for her while she tried not to laugh. A stubborn lock of hair freed itself from Satomi's ear and Rie brushed it back trying to remain serious. Satomi just turned her head back to the table and groaned loudly.

"Aw, c'mon." Rie punched her sister's arm lightly. "It's funny!" She leaned into her, her eyes full of mirth.

_"Yeah, yeah!"_ Satomi grumbled into the table.

Rie knew Satomi's complaints cloaked a genuine affection for the little pixie. Satomi didn't see a potential yakuza but a bright girl with an aptitude for math who, with the right encouragement, could be a productive member of society. Rie, in a way, understood why Satomi was so discouraged. She had been in a symbolic fight against the yakuza for the direction the child's future would take, and (this time) the yakuza had apparently won.

"Do you think she understands the implications?" She noticed Satomi stiffen at her question. Satomi slowly sat up and rested her chin on her left palm, her right hand distractedly traced the grain of the wooden table.

"What do you mean? Does she understand that she has accidentally become the pixy dealer of the school? Or perhaps you mean does she understand how her little business was indirectly disrupting the classes of several teachers? Or maybe you mean does she understand that her behavior could be misconstrued as being more yakuza than katagi?" She retorted a smidgen livelier though her mood quickly sank when she added, _"Hell if I know!" _She grumbled as both hands now cupped her chin.

_'Katagi'_ Rie glanced at her sister in confusion. She'd never heard the word before, and she shouldn't have seeing as katagi was yakuza talk. She tried to push the word out of her mind.

"Did you know the Kuroda clan doesn't sell drugs?" Satomi said more to herself than to her sister. Her bangs were getting too long and she blew on them to get them out of her eyes, too lazy to move them with her own hands.

"Really? Most clans do..." She stood up to make some tea, her thoughts still troubled by her sister's use of the word _katagi_. "How do you know this?" She asked as she filled the kettle with water.

"Ooshima-san told me." Rie turned on the burner then set the kettle on it before turning around to look at her sister.

"He could be lying to you." She leaned on the kitchen counter studying the far off look on her sister's face.

"Maybe." Satomi turned her head towards her sister. "But I doubt it. Kyou-san mentioned it when he was talking about how the Nekomata wanted to expand their drug business into Kuroda turf. Kuroda-san declined because they don't sell drugs." Satomi, oblivious of her sister's cocked eyebrow at the mention of _Kyou-san_, stood up to look through the kitchen window. "Apparently Kuroda-san doesn't want that _element _on his turf." She snorted sarcastically. Rie, however, was unusually quiet which made her sister turn around to give her a quizzical look.

"Since when did you become _Ooshima-san's _confidante?" The implication was lost on Satomi.

"You know that I have to visit my students' families before the school year begins! And since Principal Takeda in his _not _so infinite wisdom has given me the same group for the past three years... make that four counting this one, I have had to visit the same families for four years in a row." She said, surprised that Rie had forgotten such an important thing. Rie didn't like her sister getting too familiar with the kumi, but she held her tongue.

"I see", she managed to reply as the kettle finally whistled. "What kind of tea do you want?" She asked in hopes of changing the subject.

-o-

It was some time after the pixy incident that the young heir was arguing with Yoshiro. No one really knows what the argument was about. All they saw was young Ojou putting Yoshiro in a chokehold while Rini ran around the two trying to get the young Kuroda to ease up on him. Somehow Yoshiro escaped the hold and the young heir (stubborn as always) lunged for him. He tried to run away but the young heir had a firm hold on his back.

This is how she came up with the game: horsey. It consisted of lunging onto Yoshiro's back and forcing him to carry her while he ran around the playground.

Of course it was hard to miss the long haired boy running around the playground carrying on his back the young Kuroda heir. This prompted a few boys to ask Yoshiro the reason why he spent all of his time with a girl, even if the girl was Kumichou. After all, everyone knew girls had cooties. They couldn't see how Kumichou would be the exception. Yoshiro's response was simple. "Nah, you know Kumichou. If she had had any I'm sure she has beaten 'em out by now."

The girls, on their part, had a similar concern seeing as it was common knowledge that boys were gross (and possibly had cooties). However, one look at Kumiko-chan and the reason elucidated itself: Kumiko-chan was herself a bit on the gross side. Still, at this age, keeping company with someone from the opposite sex was considered taboo and led a few brave students (or stupid ones, depending on how you looked at it) to say that _Yoshiro and Kumiko were sitting in a tree, K- I- S- S- I- N- G_. Of course when the young Kuroda heir heard this, she cracked her knuckles and retorted with another little children's rhyme.

"See my pinkie. See my thumb. See my fist. You better run." Her rogue grin made a few students run away though a handful of them stayed rooted to the ground, their brains' command to move never reaching their limbs.

Usually the teachers did not supervise the playground but Ishikawa-sensei, knowing Kumiko-chan's propensity for trouble, had gotten into the habit of scanning the playground looking for the little trouble-maker. This is how she saw the little rhyme exchange and why she decided to intervene.

"Kumiko-chan, what are you doing?!"

"I'm getting ready to pummel 'em." She retorted dead serious.

"You know you shouldn't be fighting in school." She really didn't want to have to give her detention let alone suspension.

"They started it" She pointed at three boys and two girls. "They said I was with Yoshiro K- I- S- S- I- N- G-ing!" Ms. Ishikawa had witnessed it, but it wasn't until the young heir tried to justify herself that it hit her how absurd it was. She wanted to laugh but she knew better.

She looked sternly at the group then at the young heir before saying, "Just ignore it."

"But I have to stop it before it gets out of hand!" The young heir replied in disbelief.

"If you ignore it they will stop"

"I will get the same result if I hit 'em." She rotated her right arm to flex the shoulder then rubbed her right fist with her left hand. "And it will be a lil' faster." Young Ojou gave a menacing look at each of them, the kind of look that promises future beatings if that kind of talk continued. After seeing that look coming from Kumiko-chan, Ms. Ishikawa shooed the children away before turning to face her.

"Sometimes it is better to be patient. Remember there are always consequences for your actions."

At that moment a gust of wind blew causing Ms. Ishikawa's multiple tiered gypsy skirt to hike up. She quickly pushed her skirt down but not quickly enough.

A few sixth graders _'saw London and France'_, but only one of them was brave enough to say, "I see London. I see France. I see sensei's underpants." The young heir smirked.

"Are y'sure you don't want me to hit 'im?" She gave sensei a conspiratorial grin. "...just a little?" She looked at the boy who started running away when he heard the young heir's question. Looking back at Ishikawa-sensei, she said "I can still catch 'im if you want me to."

Ms. Ishikawa looked back at the running sixth grader then turned around to look at the young heir who was waggling her brows suggestively. She shook her head and sighed loudly. She needed to find something to mellow the young Kuroda's temper.

-o-

This is how young Ojou found herself being introduced to the game fruit basket though no one could have anticipated the potential for danger. It wasn't like she intended to hit or push people out of the way, but there were always a few nudges here, a few tumbles there and a few seats disappearing right from under a few unsuspecting people's rear end only to _magically _reappear under the young heir's behind. So competitive was she that at times she would lunge for the seats causing the people about to lose their seats to lunge as well. Of course, all this lunging resulted in a few scraped knees all of which were quickly sent to the nurse's office.

The nurse grumbled to herself, wondering who had decided it was a good idea to teach Yamaguchi-chan fruit basket. Trying to be cheerful about the whole situation she mumbled, like a mantra, _"Kids will be kids. Kids will be kids."_ while disinfecting and applying a few adhesive bandages.

-o-

Ms. Ishikawa realized she needed to channel Kumiko-chan's energy into games more suitable to her _talents_. She needed something where any injuries sustained could be explained by the game and not Kumiko-chan herself. So, Ms. Ishikawa encouraged her to play soccer during recess. Certainly, all that expenditure of energy would be good for her.

The young heir had forgotten how much she missed playing until Ms. Ishikawa had encouraged her to play. She really loved the game and had always had a natural ability for it. However, she'd stopped playing when her parents died. At the time, she didn't know the reason for the sudden disinterest, but now that time had given her some perspective, she wondered if it had more to do with guilt. She didn't know if it was guilt about being alive, or guilt about moving on with her life, or guilt about experiencing a little bit of happiness. It really didn't matter anymore. She was glad she was playing again and she was trying to do her best.

It wasn't long after young Ojou started playing that a steady stream of students was seen coming and going into the nurse's office. The nudges of fruit basket had evolved to shoves in soccer while the scrapes became a combo of scrapes plus ankle and wrist sprains.

Treating the injured, she grumbled to herself while silently cursing Ishikawa-sensei for putting ideas in the young heir's head.

From a distance, a pair of eyes belonging to Ms. Ishikawa watched the games. Kumiko-chan's competitive nature seemed to be infectious. So, whenever she played, the students would be a little more aggressive to play offense, a little more aggressive to play defense.

She couldn't very well tell them not to go for the ball. She couldn't tell them not to do their best. After all, these games prepared them for the real world and the real world **was** competitive. The trick was to watch out for when competition turned into hostile acts against a person. As far as she was concerned, as long as they didn't start beating each other, she'd let them be. Besides all that energy the young heir had needed to be dissipated somewhere and soccer was a good place to spend it. So, she continued to keep a cautious eye on the game.

The young heir was one of the few girls that played the game. Eiichi Watanabe, Mr. Hawaii himself, admired her athletic skills and always looked forward to have her play whether they were on the same team or on opposite teams. Yoshiro played sporadically. He wasn't a bad player, he just was not in the same league as Eiichi-kun or Kumichou. Rini, however, hated soccer. Her game of choice was dodgeball.

Dodgeball was the one game the young heir tried to avoid. She had nothing against the actual game which reminded her of a training session (except Kyou-san used ping-pong balls instead of the 6"-8" dodgeball). The problem with dodgeball stemmed indirectly from the segregation by gender. The boys (having that need to beat something up) would really get into it while the girls (being taught - or brainwashed - since infancy to be nice and sweet and to suppress their competitive nature) played shyly, meaning their game consisted of a series of shuffling feet followed by a pathetic throw which (if it happened to touch anyone) was quickly followed by several "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" accompanied by the characteristic bow. That was not to say that all the girls played like that but most of them did and this was what our young heir found annoying about dodgeball. She had entertained the idea of playing with the boys but she didn't want Rini to feel left out. She always declined Rini's invitations to play dodgeball, seeing as Rini didn't want to play with the boys and she _really_ didn't want to play with the girls.

However, Rini was a persistent little beaver and the young heir had to give in after her many pleas.

In all honestly young Ojou tried to be patient, but after the fourth girl apologized profusely for hitting a target she couldn't contain it any longer.

"Whadda heck are y'apologizing for?" She yelled which startled the group of girls playing. She went on to say, "Yer supposed to hit 'em!" She pointed her open palm towards the girls huddled in the center. Some of the girls (not in her class) cowered at her outburst and the boys stopped their game to watch what would happen.

"Tatsuya! Heads up!" She warned and without missing a beat she flung the ball with all her might. The poor boy was barely able to avoid being hit in the gut (which was where the young heir had aimed). Unfortunately it still hit his shoulder. And as if in slow motion the ball ricochet from his shoulder, to the tree a few yards away, to the wall behind Tatsuya. If Eiichi hadn't caught it on the rebound, it would have continued ricochetting a couple of times more before losing all its kinetic energy.

The students witnessed in horror as Tatsuya "The Tank" Ookawa fell. He had been nicknamed "The Tank" because he was practically immovable, his torso was short and thick. The fact that he was slow-moving only helped to ensure the nickname would follow him all the way until high school. The only thing that compensated for his short tank-like torso was the size of his head which was of moai-an proportions. It was his head which deceived people into believing he was of regular stature.

However, it was his seeming immovability that had the people that witnessed the event gasping. The Tank... had fallen. Well technically he had staggered but that in itself was an accomplishment, a feat that no one thought possible. Most were surprised that The Tank had staggered others thought that his enormous head had been the reason for his undoing (something about center of gravities in relation to his head).

No one moved. Even The Tank was in shock, his immutable moai-like head shook from side to side as if trying to make sense of it. After the initial shock wore off, the boy showed the sign of thumbs up with one hand while the other one rubbed the shoulder that had been hit. The playground's usual cacophony returned after this.

The young heir motioned for Eiichi to hand her the ball.

"See? There's no need to throw it like a wuss!" She tossed the ball (lightly) to one of the girls outside the circle.

"Now throw it like ya mean it!"

And she did...

It was this incident that propelled another long flow of students into the nurse's office.

"Oh Lord! She's playing dodgeball now" was the nurse's only response.

-o-

Now that she'd been _strongly discouraged _from playing dodgeball by none other than the school nurse, she spent a few recesses carefully overseeing the playground as a King oversees his domain.

She studied how her schoolmates spent their recess from the ones on the swings to the ones skipping rope, all the way to the ones that just ran around with the aim and intention of a headless chicken. All in all, children playing the regular games children played. The ones that caught her attention were the children playing marbles and the ones playing cards.

The ones playing cards were playing a game of I Doubt It. There was a good crowd gathered around the game which surprised her seeing as cards was popular during rainy days. Today was a warm day with an almost palpable laziness that permeated throughout one's senses making you drowsy and lulling thoughts and movements to the point of stagnation. Maybe that was the reason for the popularity of the card game today.

The marbles game was a different story. It wasn't really the game which piqued her interest because (to her) the game itself seemed boring. What intrigued her most was the fascination people had watching the actual participants play. She supposed the interest stemmed from the fact that you are pitting skill against skill, playing for all the marbles (literally and figuratively). It was not just a matter of winning, it was a matter of humiliation (to a small degree) where victory was considered hollow unless one devastated the losers by stripping them of their possession.

The young heir leaned her back against a tree. The two little tufts of hair that she was passing off as pigtails swayed with the gentle breeze.

"Kumichou, you aren't playing." Yoshiro interrupted the young heir's train of thought.

"Hn" She said keeping her attention on the spectators of the game a few yards away from them.

"Is that a proper response?" He asked as he followed her gaze to the group of people huddled around the marbles game.

"You didn't ask a question", said Ojou almost as an afterthought, her gaze never wavering.

"I know that look." Yoshiro leaned his back on the same tree. The young heir silently scooted over to make some room for Yoshiro. "So, what are you planning?"

"I don't know what you mean." She said evasively a second before returning her attention to the group of spectators..

"Riiight!" He eyed her warily before flicking one of her little pigtails teasingly. She swatted his hand away not bothering to look in his direction which of course forced him to flick the little pigtail again.

She twirled one of her tiny pigtails in her fingers. She wasn't used to them.

-?-

The young heir informed her grandfather that she wanted to let her hair grow. The memory of a young Yuriko wearing little barrettes and headbands played vividly in his mind. However, this thought was interrupted by the young heir's clarification that what she wanted was to grow a few strands of hair in the back. Puzzled, he looked at her for further clarification. The young heir explained that what she wanted was Dai's haircut. Her aim, it seemed, was to wear what the younger kumi called a _rattail_. This particular style had become a fad amongst the younger members in the yakuza.

He wouldn't have given the request a second thought had it not been for Ishikawa-sensei who, having heard about the_ haircut project_, had gently insinuated that this haircut might finger the young heir as a kumi by the other students or more importantly the parents, and Kumiko-chan was doing quite well in shedding that image... O.K. maybe not that well but some people were beginning to see her as an individual independent from the Kuroda clan. It wasn't like that particular haircut was exclusive to clan members but since the prejudice was already there...

The Boss wondered how Ishikawa-sensei found out about the haircut. He half suspected it came from Kyou. Honestly, his underling seemed to become an idiot when he tried talking to her. He presumed it had to do with hardly talking to that type of woman. One did not talk to regular women the way one talked to _comfort women_. Of course, Ishikawa-sensei could have learned about the haircut from his granddaughter. Young Ojou had been particularly excited about getting a _rattail_.

The young heir's excitement aside, Ms. Ishikawa's argument had been sound, the grandfather had to admit to himself. Therefore, he had tried to dissuade her from getting the haircut. When she pleaded with him, he changed gears by subtly trying to steer her away from the style by saying, "We'll let all the hair grow and when you can get a decent length rattail we'll see what happens then." This in adult-talk meant, 'Hopefully you'll forget about it when the time comes.'

The young heir, being only ten and not used to this particular tactic, was satisfied with that. However, she started spending most days insisting that Kyou-san try to style her hair in a rattail, completely ignoring the kumi's contention that her hair was still too short for it or any other style for that matter. Kyou-san tried to humor her but was unable to gather enough hair to make a decent rattail that would be distinguishable from the rest of her hair. This, of course, incited the ever helpful hands of several kumi who said that what she needed was something to slick the hair in order to gather as much hair as possible and slick out the surrounding area. Tsuji quickly brought a vat of pomade and the kumi slathered it on the back of the young heir's head. Of course this only made her tresses look greasy and limp. Taking a careful glance at the now greasy haired young heir gave Toru a brilliant idea.

"The problem is that her hair is too short and you can't see the lil' itty bitty rattail. It gets lost with the rest of her hair. What we need to do is shave the area around the rattail?" Toru said pointing around the pathetic rattail. Kyou slapped him on the back of the head.

"Don't be such an idiot." He glowered at Toru. "The Boss don't want us to cut her hair just yet." He studied young Ojou's rattail. "What she needs is hairspray! We separate the hair around the rattail" Kyou pointed around the area as young Ojou looked at the kumi with hopeful eyes. Wakamatsu grimaced at the idea.

"Are you sure? Won't it look too much like the parting of the Red Sea?" The kumi looked at Wakamatsu confused. The biblical reference was lost on them. Noticing their confusion he said, "Moses...? the Israelites...? 'Let my people go'...?" He received blank stares and bewildered looks. "Pfft. You guys are stupid."

"Who's the stupid one? We were just gonna spike her hair around the rattail to clearly show the separation." Kyou said as he sent Dai to the store for the mentioned product.

Half an hour later, with hairspray can in hand, Kyou would have sprayed the young heir had the Boss not seen the gathered kumi hovering over his granddaughter, making him slightly suspicious. Looking critically at the little tuft of hair which hid among the greasy hair in the back, the Boss grabbed the hairspray and ordered the young heir to wash the gunk off her hair.

Once she came out of the shower he tried to encourage her instead to wear two pigtails (that is, once her hair grew long enough). The young heir's response was simple.

"I want a rattail. I am a teenager now so I should be able to decide how I wear my hair."

For a second there the Kuroda Boss about had a conniption. He quickly recovered and said, "You're a teenager?" He scratched the back of his head and asked, "What makes you think you're a teenager?"

"Ten has two digits instead of one." The young Kuroda heir said quite proudly, holding up two little fingers from her left hand as a visual

All the grandfather could think at the moment was _'Holy Crap!'_. He tried to expunge the image of young Ojou as a teenager as he had attempted to explain that she still had a couple of years to go before she was considered anything close to a teenager and quickly reminded her to be a little more respectful towards her elders.

-?-

"Hey! Leave my pigtails alone." She scowled and quickly turned her head to look at her friend who grinned mischievously.

"Oh, that's what they are!" He peered at them with an exaggerated squint and added, "But they are so little!" The young heir shoved him off the tree in mock annoyance.

"Not everyone can have rock star long hair like you." She smirked sarcastically.

"That's true" He said as he stroke his chin in a vain attempt to look pensive.

"Whatever."

"O.K. now that we've settled your pigtails are microscopic, tell me what you're planning."

"I told ya. Nobody's planning nothing." She said slightly irritated.

"Actually, what you said was that you didn't know what I meant." He stood in her line of vision, blocking her view of the spectators. "See? We're making progress already." The young heir just rolled her eyes.

"Geez! I'll tell you if you stop being an ass." She folded her arms across her chest and smirked once more. "D'ya think you can handle that?"

"Fine." He moved beside her once more.

"Look around the playground and tell me what are the most popular games. Which one has more spectators?"

"Let's see..." He looked around. The slides and the racing guys were the most popular games but the ones with the most spectators was surprisingly the card game and marbles. Without uttering a sound he tilted his head with a sideways glance towards the most watched games. She grinned as she gave a slight nod.

"So, let me guess. You're going to start a little gambling." He looked at her incredulously.

"Ah, you know me too well, Yoshiro-_kun_" She added the -kun mockingly. "It's just a business opportunity." She grinned evily.

"You know that's gonna land you in the principal's office..." It was somewhere between a question and a statement.

"Well the secretary, Ms. Asaoka, always has good candy while you wait for the principal to see ya. Just last week I had lil' kit kats and green tea kit kats while I waited for the principal to see me."

"So you admit this will send you to the principal's office?"

"What? For doing a little business?"

"No, for gambling."

"I admit nothing." She sliced the air with her right hand then turned away from him. "Besides, who's gambling? ...business opportunity. C'mon, say it with me." Yoshiro rolled his eyes with a smirk. She turned to face him. "Besides, we could make some money.".

"See? You really should be careful with your pronouns. I think you meant to say **I** instead of **we**." He was half-teasing half-serious.

"No, I mean **we**." She said stubbornly. "As in you and me. Whaddaya say?"

"I'm really more of a listener." He waved his fingers at her.

"Aw, c'mon Yoshiro."

"Why is it you always have to drag me into it?"

"Because your life would be boring without me?!"

"Fine. Fine. What do I need to do?"

-o-

It was mid-September of Ojou's 5th grade. Her second quarter. It was uncharacteristically hot and humid. The heated air swirled around you stifling your movements. The humidity was uncomfortable, suffocating.

Time seemed to slow down, as if the heat was a parameter in its final equation.

Lessons seemed to trickle to a halt as all energy seemed to drain from students and teachers alike. Movement became a foreign thought. Not even recess could bring movement to the school as if the mere thought of it could make you sweat.

The heat was getting to her. She wished there was a pool close by. Not that she could have gone in, after all she was still working. She tried to seek refuge under a tree but the heat still found her there. She tried fanning herself with a magazine she took out from her purse but that just made things worse. Her movement was expending energy which was heating her body and besides she was only circulating hot air around. She looked around the playground.

The monkey bars, the teeter totter, the slide... all lay forgotten. Heated metal doesn't agree with soft flesh. The ones that liked racing and playing ball were huddled under a few trees hoping that the shadows would be of some refuge. The jump ropers didn't play either. The only people playing had been the card players who sat cross legged on the ground to the left side on the playground and the marble players who took center stage on the playground under the watchful eye of a big lush tree.

Several children gathered around each of the only two activities in the playground and she observed in the distance as the games unfolded.

Amongst the group of people watching the marbles game, she recognized one small figure, Kumiko Yamaguchi. Kumiko-chan was hovering over the game as if she was a referee. Maybe they were playing an official game.

She approached the game. She used to play when she was younger. It brought back fond memories.

She found Kumiko-chan's behavior slighty odd but then again the kid was odd herself. When the young heir was in her 2nd grade class, Ms. Ishikawa had anxiously awaited for the end of the school year hoping that the next would bring some normalcy back to her life. However, fate had other plans or more to the point, Principal Takeda.

Under the guise that she had done such a great job with the second grade, she was _promoted _to third grade. It was not really a promotion. She knew the real reason was that no one wanted _Kumi-ko_ in their classroom. The Kuroda Kumichou had been pleased with her as young Ojou's teacher, and in one of his many visits to the Principal's office he mentioned it as an offhand remark. On impulse, Ryuuichirou Kuroda had thanked her for the wonderful job she had done teaching _their Ojou_ and this was what had sealed her fate. Principal Takeda had internally agreed with the Kuroda Kumichou. Ms. Ishikawa had done a wonderful job teaching Kumiko Yamaguchi but more importantly she had done a wonderful job being the liason between the Kuroda clan and the school administration. And if Kuroda was pleased with her then even better. He also knew that Ms. Ishikawa had handled a few things on her own without involving him. He was also sure that he _really _didn't want to know what she didn't get him involved with. The less headaches for him the better.

Ms. Ishikawa looked at Kumiko-chan and sighed. The young heir had gotten into more trouble this school year (which was not even halfway done) than in her 4th grade, 3rd grade, or even 2nd grade. She really needed to find the time to calmly talk with Kuroda-san about teaching her discipline and levels of authority. Last time she had tried it had ended up with Kuroda-san explaining that the little pixie knew all about authority. "After all there are ranks within the yakuza." He had said almost surprised that Ishikawa-sensei didn't seem to know. Confusing her nonplussed demeanor for ignorance had resulted in Kuroda-san giving her a lesson on yakuza hierarchy. Naturally, the point she had been trying to make was completely lost on the Kuroda Boss.

It wasn't until she was asked to get the necessary documentation for 4th-6th grade that she'd considered declining these _forced promotions_. The only reason she didn't was because she didn't think anyone (at least from the people currently employed in this elementary school) would be able to deal with the young heir's _special needs_. Thus, she had said half-joking that she wouldn't do it unless she got a significant pay raise. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, her salary was doubled. She thought she was probably the best paid elementary school teacher in Japan. She wondered how Principal Takeda managed to explain such expense. She shrugged.

She looked again at the girl that had gotten her to smoke again.

She remembered the look on her sister's face when she found her sneaking a cigarette. And even though that look made her want to crawl into a hole and hide, she still took one last long drag before flicking the cigarette to the floor and stepping on it. Letting the smoke out, she sheepishly justified herself.

"She's gonna kill me before the cancer gets me anyway!"

She smiled to herself. She noticed Kumiko-chan held a notebook in her hands. Something seemed to be going on but she couldn't really tell from where she was.

She directed her attention to the left. In the distance she saw the group observing the card game. Amongst this group, a small boy named Yoshiro could be seen. She recognized the game from where she was. The game they were playing was I Doubt It. It looked like Yoshiro was keeping an eye on this game. She saw a few of the older boys hooting and hollering. She remembered the game I Doubt It. It was an enjoyable game especially if you played with 8 people. She smiled inwardly. She looked over at the children and she noticed that some of the older boys were drooling over the cards. She frowned. She headed towards the card players. The older kids noticing the teacher approaching, left. The younger ones stayed. As she approached and saw the older kids leave like cockroaches a feeling of doom tookover. She heard one kid yelling I Doubt It and the other showing his cards grinning. It was too bad because the kid that had yelled was almost winning but now he had to pick up the stack of cards being laid down. He frowned. Ms. Ishikawa relaxed a little. There was nothing wrong with a game of cards. As she approached she noticed something peculiar about the cards but she was still a bit too far to make out what was wrong with them. Once she got closer her cheeks began to flush at what she saw.

_Ahem ahem..._ "O.K. you guys this is the end of the game." A few 'aaaaww's were heard from the group. Yoshiro called out that so far Kuboki was winning. A few people were upset and started complaining that it didn't mean that in the end he would have won. Ms. Ishikawa wondered why the ones that weren't playing were so upset about who would win in the end or not. Little did she know that a betting system had been established by the young heir on the cards and marbles games. Yoshiro called Kumiko who stopped the marbles game temporarily as she assisted Yoshiro.

"Who cares who won? These cards are inappropriate for school. Who brought this cards?" Ms. Ishikawa looked at the 8 players suspiciously. No one answered. The young Kuroda heir approached. She heard Ms. Ishikawa's question and not knowing why it was inappropriate she confessed.

"I brought them, Ms. Ishikawa" A girl's voice was heard say. Ms. Ishikawa was frowning. She turned around to face the owner of said voice only to be faced with Kumiko Yamaguchi. Ms. Ishikawa's shoulders sagged as she dropped her head down letting a loud sigh escape her lips.

Seeing the teacher's expression, young Ojou took this opportunity to ask Yoshiro what had happened after which she tried to resolve the situation.

Ms. Ishikawa was thinking about whether she should tell the Principal about this incident or just deal with it herself. Should she call her grandfather or just deal with Kumiko-chan herself. She sighed again.

Unfortunately, Ms. Ishikawa's ears caught the words 'future game', 'money', and 'bets' coming from the young heir.

"You're playing for money?!"

"Well, it isn't that much" And, this decided it for her. She slumped. She would have to talk to Kuroda-san... and maybe the Principal... maybe.

"Just stay after school."

"What happened? I didn't do nothing" The young Kuroda said upset, arms folded across her chest with a little pout from her lips.

"Well, we'll discuss that later" Ms. Ishikawa left. She hadn't noticed that the young heir had another small operation in the marbles section. ...or maybe she just didn't want to know.

* * *

_A/N_:

_1_. Yes! I love pixy stix. I use to eat them when I was younger (though not as much as Ojou). I know there might be better candy out there but pixy stix will always have a special place in my heart. Anyway, I tried to check if they sell pixy stix in Japan, to no avail. Whether they sell them in Japan or not, I think having Hideki Matsuzaka's shop sell them to cater to foreigner's in Japan makes the story believable enough. Someone has to cater to them?! Winks.

_2_. Fruit basket is a game kind of like musical chairs. The difference being that the person designated as 'It' names something like "people who wear glasses" or "people who have red hair" and everybody who has that quality must change seats giving 'it' the opportunity to secure a seat. Whoever is left standing is the new 'it'.

_3_. Moai - stone carved heads on Easter Island (or Rapa Nui as called by the natives) See http: /pvs. kcc. hawaii. edu/rapanui/rapa2. html

_4_. I don't know if the multiple tiered gypsy skirt was even in style at the time Ojou was 10. I try to stay as true to the manga as much as I can but I have no idea when Ojou's birth date is according to the manga. If you know, I would like to know so feel free to PM. me. However, I still won't change the skirt to something flared appropriate to that time. It took me enough time to come up with this particular skirt. I hate writing about clothes but some times it is necessary.

_5_. Marbles - The game of marbles used to be popular in Japan, but nowadays only old people play the game (or so some websites claim).

_6_. About the weather, in **my **Kamiyama it doesn't snow or gets too cold. Summer is pretty hot. Autumn is cooler. Winter is rainy but not too cold. Spring is warm. I had tried to find the actual weather when I wrote The Sleeper but I got two different possible weather patterns. In a couple of sites some people claimed it snowed there while others claimed otherwise. In a latitude and longitude lookup it gave me a latitude lower than San Jose, CA. In another site of lat and long lookup, I got two Kamiyama's but it only gave me one of the lat and long. So, I decided to make my Kamiyama be situated around southern Japan close to the Pacific edge. I made up my own weather for this Kamiyama based **loosely **on San Jose, CA. That might clear it up for some people who might get confused. This is actually the reason why I didn't make a chapter on snow.

_7_. Don't know if Kyou used ping pong balls or golf balls. I will change it when I find out. If someone cares to tell me, let me know and I will change it if it is golf balls.

_8_. Yes, there is such a thing as Green Tea Kit Kat. No, I've never tasted it or seen it in person. Actually, I would like to taste it seeing as I have a mild fascination with green tea flavored things. Unfortunately, I think they only sell this flavor in Japan. Japan, it seems, is Kit Kat nation where any combination of flavors goes.


	17. First Kiss

_A/N_: Well, this is more of a filler chapter, I guess. Something between an _omake_ (extra or bonus) and a chapter... an _omater_ or a _chake_ if you will. I will give a little background for this chake at the end. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

_**First Kiss**__(age 10)_

First kisses have always been romanticized. It is true that the first kiss with that significant other tends to be memorable. Certainly, anticipation plays a big role in this. It is also true that the feelings you have towards this person tint the way you view this first kiss. But when you've never kissed, that very first kiss is awkward, tentative, experimental. Of course, a healthy dose of hormones rushing and pumping make that very 1st kiss like a car crash: You don't know exactly what's going on nor what to do but things are happening and your stomach might feel a little funny and you seriously hope that whatever you're doing is right. Only in movies (or mangas) will that very first kiss turn into heated, passionate ones so enveloping that the rest of the world is forgotten. With this I mean, you could have been in the midst of a fire with the heat threatening to sear your flesh and the stench of burning hair floating in the air, staring at the prospect of your impending demise and all you would notice (according to movies... and mangas) is a soft wind caressing your hair and the swirling of ashes encircling the two of you as if gently nudging you to get closer. And, as you do, a swirl of emotions churn making you weak and dizzy and maybe even a little euphoric... culminating... in that... meeting... of lips. Almost orgasmic if you really think about it. And, maybe this is the reason why when you ask people to recount their first kiss, they always make it a point to emphasize that they are referring to their first _real _kiss. Odd considering the inherent implication that the _actual _first kiss was less reality based more conjured up image (or ouija board summons...) Ah, but I jest. I guess the most obvious translation behind the qualification _real_ being used on a first kiss is 'My first kiss sucked'. Which in turn, brings to mind all the _actual _first kisses people experience and ignore because they don't fit that romanticize view of what a first kiss should be.

-o-

Yoshiro and the young Kuroda ran into the house. Young Kumiko dribbled a basketball while Yoshiro (walking backwards in order to face his friend) said quite excitedly, "Yeah. Dad just bought me an adjustable basketball goal. It's in the backyard."

A loud frustrated sigh was heard from the family room followed by faint indiscernible mumblings. Both children ran towards the sound, not before Yoshiro tried reaching for the ball in an attempt to steal it. Young Ojou blocked with her back. She faked right then left before dribbling past him in a swift seamless motion.

She stopped dribbling at the sight of a slightly irritated Meiko who was slouching way down on the couch of the family room while her angry thumb punished the remote for whatever _it _had done to her.

"What's wrong with you?" Yoshiro watched as Meiko continued to take her frustration out on the remote, each flitting image barely able to say one word before being swiftly replaced by another.

The young Kuroda inched her way towards Yoshiro and asked sotto voce, _"Is she O.K.?"_ Her eyes were fixed on Meiko.

_"Don't know. I've only seen her like this whenever..."_ His voice trailed off as understanding seized him.

"You had a fight with Whatsisface!" Whatsisface was the name Yoshiro gave Meiko's current boyfriend. He actually liked him better than her previous boyfriend: Whatchamacallit. But he couldn't really tell his sister that. After all, it was his job as her little brother to annoy her to no end.

"Why are you here?" She asked finally acknowledging, rather testily, her brother's presence. She didn't want to be reminded of the idiot she called boyfriend.

Yoshiro simply ignored her question. He knew better than to get in a conversation with her when she was in this mood. Watching her for any sudden movements, he tilted his head towards his friend and talked from one side of his mouth, the one closest to the young heir.

_"Yeah, they got into a fight."_ He whispered the confirmation, as much for himself as for his friend.

"What about?" Young Kumiko asked out loud, her eyes full of curiosity. If there was one thing she knew about was fighting.

Meiko sighed loudly. "None of your beeswax." Really, little brothers and their little friends could be annoying at times. She stopped flipping channels and stood up. Trying to usher them towards the backyard, she added "I believe you guys were going to play some basketball?" She asked eyeing the basketball young Ojou held firmly on her side.

Shedding any pretense at being discrete, he said to his young friend "Ooh, maybe they broke up." He looked at his sister meaningfully and he teasingly added, "...again".

"Yoshiro, please don't start with me." She closed her eyes trying to control her temper as she turned off the TV. "I'm not in the mood." She didn't want to take it out on her little brother.

"I'm not starting anything." He acted innocently as most younger siblings tend to do. And because younger siblings have no sense of self preservation, he added "I'm just saying you guys break up more often than you change und - " Fortunately the young heir interrupted him. Unfortunately, she had an equally underdeveloped sense of self preservation or maybe it was underdeveloped filtering system (or both).

"Kyou-san says that if you want good company you have to pay extra. Otherwise they just lie there not even pretending to be interested. He also says that the younger ones are more expensive." She thought for a second before adding "I guess they're busier", not really understanding what she was saying. Young Ojou's little explanation left Meiko nonplussed. Blinking - which was all she was able to do - she eyed her little brother trying to gauge his reaction.

Yoshiro, though visibly confused, was not shocked at all. He'd grown used to not understanding certain things Kumichou said. He'd found that, some times, it was better if he didn't try to understand.

The young heir continued.

"Have you considered that maybe you don't pay Whatsisface enough for his company?" She studied Meiko whose face had flushed, whether out of anger or embarrassment, only she knew.

"Now wait just a darn mi -" She was interrupted by the doorbell.

_Ding Dong_

Meiko scowled at the two children who stared at her in blank incomprehension.

_Ding Dong_

"I'm coming. **I'm coming**." She yelled as she headed to the front door. The two children followed close behind.

She opened the door and as soon as she saw who it was she slammed the door in his face.

_"Whatsisface?"_ Young Ojou whispered in Yoshiro's ear. The long haired boy nodded.

_On the other side of the door..._

Whatsisface tried sounding reasonable.

"Meiko. I know I'm getting the silent treatment. I'd just like to know why!"

He called out slightly insistent.

"Meiko, I know you can hear me. Please open the door."

His tone rose to a warning.

"Meiko... If you don't open this door, I'm leaving!"

... until he started to break and openly moaned against the door.

"Meeeeikooo, pleease!"

...which turned to pathetic howls.

"Meikoooooo! Meikoooo!"

_Back in the Kashu house..._

"Geez, just put him out of his misery already!" The young heir said impatiently as she rolled her eyes.

Meiko hated to admit that she had been even slightly moved by his pleas. However there she was, considering the possibility that there was a reasonable explanation somewhere.

She paced back and forth near the door trying to decide whether she should let him in or not.

"tsk tsk tsk" Yoshiro shook his head as he watched his sister's indecision. He felt a smidgen of sympathy for the teenage boy moaning on the other side of the door. He took furtive glances at the distracted Meiko before gradually opening the door.

"Mei..." The name died in his throat when he realized it wasn't Meiko peering out the door opening. Momentarily confused at the sight of Yoshiro, who had stepped aside to let him in, Whatsisface just stared. That is, until he noticed Yoshiro leaning his head to the side and back in Meiko's general direction. Whatsisface followed the direction of Yoshiro's tilted head to find Meiko still pacing, unaware that her little brother had taken the choice out of her hands. He ran to her and said, "Me-"

Startled she interrupted him, blurting out the reason for her anger, "Save it. Mika-chan told me that her sister's best friend's cousin's neighbor saw you walking a girl to your house, yesterday afternoon."

_"Were they playing __Telephone__?"_ Young Ojou whispered to her friend.

"What?!" The teenage boy stopped to think for a second before saying in obvious frustration, "Yeah, that was my **sister**! Obviously Mika-chan's neighbor's friend's cousin doesn't know **MY **sister."

_"Yep, __Telephone_._"_ Yoshiro, stupefied, whispered back.

The young heir nodded before saying out loud, "It's Mika-san's sister's best friend's cousin's neighbor."

Whatsisface eyed the children then Meiko who was speechless, her mouth agape. Seeing this as a sign that she might at least listen to him, he said "Hm. Could we talk privately?"

Meiko dazedly asked the two children to play in the backyard.

Yoshiro began to move but the young heir (who was very fond of Meiko) just glowered at Whatsisface. It sounded like it might be a simple misunderstanding but she was not going to take any chances. She was going to keep a close eye on Whatsisface and she was going to make sure he was aware of it. Without uttering a word, she pointed her index and middle finger at her eyes and then pointed at him in the standard sign of "I'm watching you". Once the challenge had been issued, she took several slow steps backwards maintaining the threat through sheer eye contact until she slowly turned to follow Yoshiro. Whatsisface fidgeted.

_"Cute kid."_ He mumbled to Meiko who just shrugged.

-o-

_After 30 minutes of a rousing game of basketball..._

"Hey! Let's get something to drink." Yoshiro said. They headed towards the kitchen.

They both ran from the backyard into the family room out towards the living room only to find Meiko and Whatsisface in a very passionate kiss.

"Eeeeeww!!" They both exclaimed.

Meiko leaned back and away from the teenage boy. "What are you guys doin' here?" She eyed the two children annoyed. "Didn't I tell you guys to play in the backyard?"

"We were thirsty." Yoshiro whined.

"Oh." Meiko's eyes darted around the room guiltily while Whatsisface suddenly found a non-existent piece of lint on his right thigh extremely interesting. It should come as no surprise that the two children found this scene very suspicious which, of course, brought to mind the sight they saw when they first entered the room.

"Why were you two kissin'?" Yoshiro asked.

"Yeah. Wasn't she mad at you?" Young Ojou pointed to Meiko.

"Well, it was a misunderstanding." He could hardly contain his goofy grin as he sought Meiko's hand and entwined their fingers.

"You are sooo eeasy!" The young heir drawled out the words with a hint of disgust.

The teenage boy smiled shamelessly as he said, "Yep, I am." This was closely followed by Meiko playfully elbowing him on the ribs.

"Yeah. Yeah. That's great" Young Ojou said dismissively to Whatsisface, a hint of sarcasm evident in her tone. Turning to Meiko, she asked "Did he force you to kiss 'im?"

"Nononono... It wasn't like that." She smiled shyly as Whatsisface swung their hands childishly.

Remembering the earlier commotion and seeing their now idiotically grinning love-struck teenage faces, she said, "I'm never kissing anyone!" Yoshiro agreed with young Ojou. Both silently considered that there must be something in kisses that lowers your I.Q. or something.

Wanting to explain to the children that kissing was something they'll do when they grow older, she said "You just don't understand." She thought for awhile trying to choose her words carefully. "You can tell a lot from a kiss. And when you find someone you like you will want to kiss them."

"We like each other and you don't see us kissing!" Refuted Yoshiro

"Maybe you should" The teenage boy said which earned him a punch on the arm from Meiko.

"Don't pay attention to him. You need to be older to kiss." As much as she wanted the children to understand kissing was normal, she really did not want her little brother's hormones to start kicking in so early.

"Why? How old were you guys when you got your first kiss?" Yoshiro asked innocently

"About your age", said the teenage boy.

"You're not helping." The girl hissed at him through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, I won't say a peep." Whatsisface grinned.

"Just keep in mind that you have to be sure that you like that person _a lot_."

The young heir remembered her parents kissing. However, her parents never kissed the way those two were kissing. At least, she never saw them kissing like that. And the young heir just had to ask "Why was your mouth open when you kissed?" Whatsisface snorted while the teenage girl flushed completely embarrassed.

"I didn't." She lied.

"Yes, you did" Young Kumiko insisted pointing at her and looking at Yoshiro for confirmation.

"Yeah, I saw it." Yoshiro said thinking about it.

"Come to think of it, I think I saw some tongue" The young Kuroda frowned as she said it. Whatsisface was trying really hard not to laugh. Meiko was stunned.

"Tongue?" Yoshiro looked at both, his sister and her boyfriend, slightly alarmed. Directing his attention to the young heir, he whispered with a hint of a grimace _"Don't be silly. Why would she stick her tongue out?"_ Kumichou must not have seen things properly.

_"I swear, I saw it."_ The young Kuroda muttered from the side of her mouth while she kept an eye on the two sitting on the sofa. Noting Kumichou's insistence, Yoshiro eyed his sister carefully. She hadn't denied nor confirmed such accusation, and a look at the teenage boy indicated that he was enjoying this whole conversation a little too much. Yoshiro waited for his sister to say something.

"N-n-no. I d-didn't stick my t-tongue out." She said nervously, her eyes darting from one kid to the other. "I-Isn't that so?" She directed her question to Whatsisface. The teenage boy looked at her then at the two kids and shrugged. Panicking she punched his arm and said "Hey, say something!"

"I promised you wouldn't hear a peep from me and you won't" He said in mock innocence.

"Fine time to keep quiet!" She huffed.

"Holy crap! You _did_ stick your tongue out" Yoshiro gasped and pointed an accusing finger at his sister. "What the heck were **you **doing with **your **tongue in **his **mouth?" Yoshiro then sneered and pointed at the teenage boy.

At this, the teenage boy burst out laughing. Meiko elbowed the boy she had _tongued _causing him to try to stifle his laughter unsuccessfully. Seeing he was not going to get an answer, Yoshiro yelled with a disgusted look on his face, "**I'm telling mooooooom!**"

The boy that had been _tongued_, who was trying not to laugh, began coughing uncontrollably at Yoshiro's threat. Meiko, being the eldest, gave Yoshiro a little warning.

"If you say anything to mom..." Meiko pursed her lips trying to control her anger. "I don't know when or how but you're gonna regret it." She stared at him in open challenge. Yoshiro took a step back and thought for a minute.

"Fine. Then I'll just keep asking you until you tell me." He stood in front of the two and asked, "So, what the heck were you doing with your tongue in his mouth?"

"Hn" She tried to ignore it. She stood up and pulled the coughing boy from the sofa and dragged him into the kitchen. Yoshiro and young Ojou followed them closely.

"What were you doing with your tongue in his mouth?!" A stubborn Yoshiro asked again.

"Leave me alone little bro." She poured Whatsisface a glass of water. Yoshiro followed her like a shadow.

"What were you doing with your tongue in his mouth?!" Yep, a shadow that wouldn't stop asking the same question.

Giving the glass to the tongued boy, she looked at her little brother sternly.

"Go and play outside", she said then turned to leave the kitchen.

The tongued boy drank the water and went back to the living room only to see Meiko sitting on the sofa - pretending to read a magazine - purposely ignoring her little brother who, refusing to be ignored, asked his sister one more time "What. Were. You. Doing. With. Your. Tongue. In. His. Mouth?!"

"O.K. little bro. Take it easy. I'll tell you..." Meiko said putting the magazine down. She opened her mouth then closed it unable to come up with a convincing explanation that would stop Yoshiro from asking the same stupid question. The two children stood there, arms folded across their chest, waiting.

Meiko looked for help from the boy she had _tongued_. The _tongued _boy looked at the children and decided that distraction was their best course of action. He sat on the sofa and leaned forward. Placing his elbows on his thighs, he put the tips of his fingers together and said "You know, when I was little I could stick my tongue out for 2 hours!" Yes, he was making it up but it would keep the children occupied and hopefully get them to forget their question.

"Really?" Yoshiro said surprised.

"Yep. Let's see if you can beat my record." After all, little mouths can not talk if their tongues are sticking out.

"Liar!" The young Kuroda said emphatically, not buying the 2 hour limit. "You'd be drooling all over the place."

"Yeah! What didcha do with all that drool?!" said Yoshiro deciding that Kumichou was right about the impossibility of the feat. "Is that why you stuck your tongue in my sister's mouth?"

Meiko didn't think Whatsisface plan would work. Maybe if the children had been younger... Yet, she had watched and waited only to see his plan backfire. Trying to distract children with something about tongues in order to get them to forget about the tongue incident was not very smart. So, Meiko decided to step in.

"O.K. Enough of that! What about some ice cream?!" She smiled pleased with herself.

And, between screams of 'ice cream, ice cream' here and there, the whole incident was temporarily forgotten. The two children ran towards the kitchen screaming with delight. In the background, the _tongued _boy could hear Meiko asking who wanted whipped cream followed by screams of 'I do. I do. I do'

After eating their ice cream, the two children went back to the backyard where they spent several hours playing until they were exhausted. Dead tired, they went to the family room to rest. They both slouched on the couch flipping channels trying to find something to watch.

Now, the thing about children's short attention span is that, whereas they might seem to forget about an incident, it is only filed away for later use. And, it is this inopportune recall that brought Yoshiro to ask "What do you think about the whole tonguing thing?"

"Meiko really didn't say much about it."

"True." He turned off the T.V. and turned to face her. "What was _that_ all about?" Yoshiro said with naive curiosity. The young heir shrugged.

"Maybe it's a test of some kind."

"...a test..." Yoshiro didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Like a test of loyalty... or maybe sealing of a pact or the end of a conflict or something like that." She said tapping her lower lip with her index finger. "After all, they had been fighting just hours ago."

"What the hell does that mean?" He furrowed his brow with incomprehension.

"I think that they tongued each other as a ritual to signify the end of the fight!" She rolled her eyes condescendingly as if her explanation hadn't been anything but obvious.

"You mean, like when some people spit on their hands before shaking?" She nodded.

"Except they go straight to the mixing of saliva in their mouths."

"Eeeww! You're gross Kumichou!" The young heir shrugged at Yoshiro's disgust.

"Well, how else would you explain it? No one in their right mind is gonna stick their tongue in someone else's mouth!" She waited for Yoshiro's rebuttal. Yoshiro thought for awhile but nothing came to mind.

"So you think they were mixing each other's saliva for the ritual?" He asked when he finally gave up trying to think up another explanation.

"Dunno. Maybe..." Yoshiro shuddered.

"It still sounds gross." Young Kumiko agreed with Yoshiro's assesment. "So, what about the kissing on the lips? You think you can really tell a lot from a kiss?" The young heir thought for a second.

"I don't know. I had never heard about kissing as a form of interrogation." She paced around the room in deep thought. "I wonder what kind of information you get from kissing on the lips..." She mused out loud.

"So, now you think Meiko was really interrogating him?" Yoshiro said. She nodded absently.

"That's the only thing that makes sense if they are going to end the fight by tonguing each other." Slightly troubled, the young heir added "Except for the simple fact that if it is such an effective means of interrogation then the kumi would be kissing people instead of beating them up." She had certainly stumbled upon a mystery. "And that is clearly not happening."

"That's probably because it only works on people you like a lot. I don't think the kumi like those people, do they?" Yoshiro said pensive making the young heir ponder this new bit of information.

"Nope. I don't suppose they do." She paced around the room again. "Hmm... You may have a point."

"When I was younger, I used to kiss aunt Miyabi on the lips... I never found out nothing!" He thought out loud.

"Obviously not all kissing on the lips is for interrogation, or do you think that when your parents kiss they're interrogating each other?" She looked at Yoshiro in disbelief. "Of course not! That's married couple stuff to make babies and because they like-_like_ each other." She said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"That still doesn't answer why I never found out a thing when I kissed aunt Miyabi, or grandma for that matter."

"You weren't trying to interrogate her, were you?" She hadn't stopped pacing around. Yoshiro just followed her.

"Maybe you can't interrogate family... or you just didn't know how to do it." She said looking at the ceiling as if it would give her some sort of guidance.

She suddenly stopped pacing. Yoshiro, who had been following her every step, barely missed bumping into her.

"There is only one way to find out." She turned around to face the long-haired boy and said "Kiss me."

"Eh?... on the lips?..." Yoshiro balked at the thought.

"We're not family." She offered as an explanation.

"...on the lips?..." Repeated Yoshiro flabbergasted.

"What? You're scared? You don't think you like me enough?" She said getting a bit ticked off, her hands beginning to form little fists. Yoshiro saw this.

"No, I think I'm more scared of you and your fists." He said keeping an eye on them.

"Well, if you don't want me to hit you then kiss me."

"Yes, ma'am" Yoshiro replied.

"And, you better not open your mouth or stick your tongue out. We're not doing no stinkin' pact or nothing!" She grimaced in disgust "And if you do,** I'll kick your ass**!" She warned Yoshiro who nodded. They leaned into each other but before any contact was made she stopped and punched him on the stomach. She didn't use her full force but just enough that it would hurt.

"OUCH! Why did you do that?" Yoshiro groaned as he rubbed his stomach.

"That was just a warning of what will happen to you if you tell anyone about this. _**GoT It**_?" Her fist was mere inches from his face.

"G-g-got it." Then she grabbed the wide eyed boy by the collar and kissed him on the lips, no tongue.

-o-

The young heir tried leaning to the right, she tried leaning to the left, she tried varying the amount of force on the lips. Of course, regardless of the number of times and the subtle variations she attempted, the young heir didn't learn a thing from this _interrogation_. Frustrated, she shoved him aside.

"I'm thirsty." She said and headed to the kitchen. Yoshiro silently obeyed her unspoken order to follow her as he mulled over the only thing he had learned from this _little interrogation_: Kumichou had very sooooft lips.

* * *

_A/N_: O.K. a little background. If you guys remember a long time ago (in my profile) I had explained how _Growing Up Yakuza_ came about. I was actually writing down a Gokusen story (Shinkumi) and had decided to put a few flashbacks on her younger years (five to be precise). I wasn't happy with the story (I'm not very good with romance, it seems). So I decided to put it on hold. Though I don't know if I will ever write it down, let alone upload it, I have introduced certain elements in _Growing Up Yakuza_ that I will need for that Shinkumi story. But I digress. What I hadn't told you guys was that it wasn't until I read the story **Teacher** by _dead2self _that I decided to use those five flashbacks of her younger years and make it into a story. This chapter was one of the flashbacks. Admittedly, I have only uploaded (counting this chapter) 3 out of the 5 flashbacks. Anyway, you should go read **Teacher** and leave him/her a review. My chapter is a different take on what that first kiss would be.

_A/N2_:

_1_. Telephone - Telephone is a game were a group of people sit down arm length apart and one person thinks of a message then they pass it to the person sitting next to them, then the person sitting next to them passes the message to the next person and so on. If one person should not understand the message they may say operator to hear the message again. They can only do this once. When the last person gets the message they stand up and they say the message out loud. The point of the game is to see if the last person can say the message correctly.

_2_. The very last part was written for _FS.Rain_ who had asked if Yoshiro and Kumiko will end up together. Keep in mind that though I do have some ideas on future chapters, for the most part, I am coming up with the chapters as I go along. Hence, I still don't know where I'm going with Yoshiro and Kumiko on that aspect. However, I hope everyone reading it enjoys it.

_3_. Go Red Sox! The following link shows the "New Era Cap David Ortiz Commercial". I think it is a funny commercial. Of course, the commercial has something to do with Japan so watch if you haven't seen it. I beg those who watch it to take it in good fun. I am certain no ill-intentions are meant. The gist of the commercial is that the cap is so authentic you could be confused for a baseball player. O.K.? Please take out the spaces if you want to see the commercial (and add an equal sign before 'P' and before 'related'). If that doesn't work just google "New Era Cap David Ortiz Commercial" and click on the ones in youtube.

www .youtube. com/watch?v Pp6dO5TQb6Q


	18. Dancing Around The Subject

_A/N_: -?- Indicates the beginning and end of a flashback

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

* * *

_**Dancing Around The Subject **__(age 10)_

Kuroda was heading outside when he saw a familiar car parked near the house. He allowed a small smile to play briefly across his face before he approached it. Once he reached it, he rested the heel of his palm against the roof of the car. Too lazy to bend from his waist, he eased his head down just enough to catch the eye of the driver inside it.

"Ah Detective Officer Nomura." He said evenly.

"Kuroda-san" The Detective said with a small nod. "And it is Detective Sergeant now." He smiled modestly, revealing one small dimple on his right cheek making him look even younger than his years.

"You were promoted." He raised an approving eyebrow. "Congratulations."

He had been studying him since he was a mere patrolman. Takuyu Nomura was squeaky clean with the rigidity of youth. He knew time will make him flexible but time also tended to get things dirty if one wasn't careful. What kind of a man will Nomura become? Only time could tell.

"So what brings you to these parts?" He asked keeping a wary eye on the young Detective.

Detective Sergeant Nomura answered with a question of his own.

"What is your business with the Kataguri clan?" He hadn't meant to ask so blatantly but he didn't know how to dance around this particular issue.

"You come straight to the point." He smiled while he closed his eyes trying to contain his amusement.

He recalled the young Detective being so wet behind the ears that, on occasion, Kuroda had mischievously entertained the notion of scaring the lad with a quick 'Boo', certain that the boy would have urinated on himself. He chuckled absently at the notion.

He did notice that the few years Nomura had spent on the beat had slightly dulled the luster of the young Detective's naive eyes (only slightly, mind you). Ah, to be young again.

He straightened up trying to get rid of the kink on his neck. Rubbing the back of it, he made a mental note to call for his regular masseur to come to the house. He really needed to relax. There really was no chance of that, he sighed.

When he looked back down at the young Detective, his eyes where cold and calculating.

"My business with Kataguri is my own." The young Detective fought the strong urge to hide as he met Kuroda's cold hard stare. He cleared his throat more as a nervous reflex than mucus induced.

"Still, I have heard rumors..." He paused for effect. The Kuroda Boss waited patiently. "...about an incident in Kataguri territory."

-?-

Kyou-san, young Ojou and Fuji were headed to Rini's house for another play date. Kyou-san had stopped at a nearby gas station, about 2 blocks away from Rini's house, to get some gas. The young heir (seeing Fuji fidgeting in the backseat) hooked the lead on his collar, silently hoping that all Fuji had to do was pee. Still, she grabbed the dog waste bags before opening the car door to let him out. The tosa dog sniffed around busying itself in identifying every single smell.

A noise (the kind only perceptible to those of the canine variety) caused one of his ears to cock up. The tosa dog straightened up and looked in the distance, frozen for a few seconds. Without warning, he suddenly pulled forcefully on his lead. The young heir, who was holding onto the leash, hurried her steps until the tosa dog was in full run. Her legs, which had experienced a small growth spurt this year, were still not long enough to keep up with the tosa dog's pace.

She let go of the leash letting the metal chain scrape the sidewalk as it dragged behind the runaway dog.

Kyou-san and young Ojou ran after the tosa dog until he disappeared in Rini's yard.

There, in Rini's yard, was a Kataguri kumi advancing towards Lisa Ishimaru. The tosa dog positioned itself between the two and growled in open challenge at the Kataguri kumi. The kumi backed away cautiously. Slightly confused at the sudden appearance of the dog, the Kataguri kumi tried to assess the situation. There, before him, was a dog not belonging to this house who was (at the moment) viciously protecting the owner of the house. This, of course, meant that the dog's owner must be close by. So, if he was going to give said owner a _friendly warning_, he must act now. Uncertainly, he tried sneaking past the snarling tosa dog only to be shown a clear picture of its teeth. It was at this moment that Kyou arrived, katana in hand, while Ojou -instructed by Kyou to stay put and only go back to the car and call for back up if things got out of hand- was watching, from a secure place, by the side of the house.

"What's the meaning of this?" The Kataguri kumi alternated between eying the tosa dog, the gaijin and Ooshima-san who was still holding his katana.

"I never thought I'd see the day... " The Kataguri kumi was about to reach for his own katana when out of the corner of his eyes he saw the tosa dog take a step forward. He quickly pulled back and raised his hands in front of him.

The Kataguri kumi was nonplussed, all thoughts drained by the scene before him. Kuroda, one of their strongest allies, had betrayed them (or so it seemed).

It took a few seconds for brain function to return, jolted by rage. Yet, one look at the tosa dog forced him to _play nice_. With temperate anger, he asked "Is the Kuroda clan interfering in Kataguri business?".

"Only fools jump to conclusions." Kyou managed to say while he sheathed his katana.

He then explained how the dog heard something and took off while they were on their way to young Ojou's play date with Rini.

"Are you denying Kuroda passage through Kataguri turf?"

Considering they were allies, it was a challenge meant to take the Kataguri clan outside their comfort zone.

There was no good answer to that question, however suspicious the whole thing might seem.

At that moment, the young heir entered the yard cautiously and stood beside Kyou-san.

The Kataguri kumi narrowed his eyes at Kyou and said, "We'll be watching you."

He took a few steps away before looking at Lisa Ishimaru and adding, "And you as well."

The Kataguri kumi left leaving a shaken but not deterred Lisa Ishimaru. Kyou admired the gaijin. Any other person, gaijin or Japanese, would have trembled in fear... maybe even cried a little. Not Lisa Ishimaru, the only signs of her discomfort were her tense shoulders and clenched fists. She visibly relaxed when she spotted Fuji who was sitting before her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. She smiled and patted the tosa dog then (as if her life had not been threatened) she instructed the young Kuroda where she could find her daughter. A quick 'Arigatou' directed at Kyou was followed by a small request.

"Could you please check on Bunpei?" He was currently at the pharmacy getting something for her, and Lisa was a bit worried. Kyou understood. With a quick small bow, he left.

-?-

"You can't bet your life on a rumor" Kuroda said without inflection.

"True." He fixed the rear view mirror to see a couple of Kuroda's men glancing in the direction of the Kuroda Boss then leaving the house. "But, it is my job to investigate rumors."

The Kuroda Boss nodded in understanding.

"I always try my best to keep the peace."

Detective Sergeant Nomura was surprised at Kuroda's assurance. Kuroda, was not one to explain himself. That he had taken the time to try to put him at ease was an action that didn't bode well. The whole thing made him uneasy.

"Still, I worry about the potential of suddenly having a yakuza war in my hands."

"Is that what you think?" He hadn't meant to mock him but he really couldn't see young Nomura trying to intervene in a yakuza war. It was sort of like a cub trying to stop two lions from fighting.

Nomura ignored Kuroda's condescending tone.

"Well... it could also turn into another Urufu no Omo incident." He answered honestly.

The Kuroda Boss smirked and (almost toying with him) asked, "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Nomura thought for awhile before carefully stating that yakuza arguments seldom resolve peacefully. Invariably these arguments resulted in the death of one person, as in the case of the Urufu no Omo incident, or countless deaths from a yakuza war. That the Urufu no Omo incident did not turn into a yakuza war was not something he could explain at the moment nor was it something he was going to pretend to understand.

There was a pregnant pause which was interrupted by Kuroda.

"Do you know that my granddaughter has a friend that lives in Kataguri turf?" The young detective didn't understand how Kuroda could think that yakuza arguments and their potential to turn into yakuza war was a good segue into the discussion about his granddaughter's friend. Yet, there it was. All he could do was shake his head in the negative and hope that Kuroda kept talking.

The Kuroda Boss looked almost as if he was debating whether he should continue. He straightened up again and looked along the street. It was almost empty. This wasn't exactly unusual. Hardly any cars passed by this particular street having been siphoned off and into the new road that ran parallel to this one only a couple of blocks away. Though Nomura some times wondered if the fact that Kuroda's place was on this road had anything to do with the lack of cars passing through. Most likely a combination of the two. Of course, this made trying to stakeout Kuroda extremely difficult.

"Rini Ishimaru is her name. Do you know her?"

Detective Sergeant Nomura opened his eyes in recognition. The rumors of the small argument between the Kataguri and Kuroda clan took place in the Ishimaru's household.

"I've heard about her." The Kuroda Boss nodded at the answer, still not looking at Nomura.

"Did you know that Rini's mother is a journalist?" He asked so detached that the implication was almost lost on the young Detective. Kuroda let the question sink until understanding dawned on Nomura's features.

"I hope you get your story straight Detective Sergeant Nomura." He finally looked at Nomura. The young Detective was still dumbfounded.

Kuroda tapped the roof of the car and left following the path his underlings had taken several minutes ago. Without stopping or looking back, he lifted his hand as a sign of goodbye and said, "Next time just come inside and have some tea."

-o-

_Several days later at the end of another play date at Rini's place..._

The young Kuroda heir noticed the stack of magazines littered on the coffee table. The stack was an oddity for the young heir who was used mostly to the kumi's preferred choice of magazine: porn. So the young heir eyed with curiosity the glossed out perfumed pages supposedly geared towards women though she had a strong suspicion that a man might be somewhere behind it as the titles seemed to be geared to _making him happy_.

How to turn him on in 10 words or less

4 things all guys crave hearing

The things his ex won't do

Although there were some that were not about pleasing the guy.

Are you ready to share a bathroom?

_'What was so hard about sharing a bathroom? You only need to make sure to lock the door and to not stay in there for too long.'_ She looked at the headline again. She never thought people would need help in sharing a bathroom but there it was.

However, the headline that really confused her was the one saying

Getting an orgasm, guaranteed

Just when she was about to ask Rini if she knew what it meant, Kyou-san dropped by to pick her up.

"C'mon Lil' Bit. Time to go home."

-o-

The drive home had been unusually quiet, Kyou realized. He hated to admit he was apprehensive about asking her about her day. Last time she had been talkative she decided to tell him about a new _poem_ she had learned. Unfortunately it was a rendition of a very popular and very dirty limerick

-?-

"There once was a man from Nantucket whose d-"

"Yeah, that's great" He didn't let her finish. "Who taught you that?"

Quite proudly, she said "Dai".

Kyou-san mumbled something under his breath while the young heir was pensive as if she was mulling over something.

She finally interrupted Kyou-san's mumblings to ask, "What's a c-?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" He quickly cut her off.

-?-

Nope. It was better if he didn't ask anything. He turned the radio on and started singing along with it while he encouraged the young heir to do the same.

-o-

The young heir was clearly puzzled by the headline. And, with those words in mind, she arrived at the Kuroda household. She went directly to her grandfather's study to ask him what was the meaning behind what she read.

"Ojou, you're back from your play date already? I'm surprised you didn't head straight to Yoshiro's before coming back." Her grandfather shifted his attention towards his granddaughter. The papers in his hands momentarily forgotten.

"Yeah, I came straight from Rini's." She paused for a few seconds unsure on how to ask her question. Her grandfather knew something was troubling her. He pulled his attention back to the papers in his hands as he waited patiently for his granddaughter to muster enough courage to bring up whatever was on her mind.

"Grandpa?" Ojou managed to say after a minute of contemplation.

"Huh?" He said without looking up from the papers Furukawa-sensei had just dropped off.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what an orgasm is" Her grandfather dropped the papers he was looking at.

"Eh? Where did you hear that?"

"I read it in a magazine."

"Um... It's something that feels really good and you'll experience when you're older"

"But, what is it?" She said wondering what he meant with _'experience it'_. She thought you were supposed to get it. She remembered the headline saying 'Getting an orgasm, guaranteed'

"Er... " He rubbed the back of his head. She waited until she started getting annoyed.

"You still haven't answered what it is. For all I know, I could have gotten an orgasm and not know that I got it"

This, of course, was the wrong thing to say.

"Well, see... W-WHAT?! DID YOU DO SOMETHING WITH SOMEBODY? IT'S THAT KASHU BOY, AIN'T IT?!"

"..."

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON 'IM..." He said looking for his katana. "...I'M GONNA... I'M G!"

Now you know when you are so upset you can't seem to utter a coherent sentence? Well, that was it.

"...WHAT**. **DID**.** HE**. **DOOO?"

"H-he didn't do anything. What does he h-have to do?" Her puzzled look confirmed to him that Ojou had no clue what he was talking about. And after his outburst, he was totally disarmed.

"Um... nothing... nothing..." But the thought of Ojou doing _things _with some boy at such a young age riled him up again and he continued "And there better be nothing happening between you and anyone UNTIL YOU'RE OLDER!"

Ojou started to leave. Things were getting a liiiittle crazy for our young heir and she thought she should try asking someone else.

"Don't you walk AWAY FROM ME, YOUNG LADY!! DID YA HEAR?" Ojou raised one of her arms without looking back. It looked like she'd have to ask someone else to get a straight answer. Luckily, she happened to see Wakamatsu arrive. She slowly walked over towards him waiting for him to finish discussing some 'family' business.

"Hey, Ojou. How's it going?" He patted her head. She sighed. Things couldn't go as badly as they did with her grandfather, could they?

"What's an orgasm? And, how do you get one?" Wakamatsu was taken by surprise. He hadn't expected to be in the receiving end of one of Ojou's questions. Once he got married, he had moved out of the Kuroda house. He was glad he didn't have to endure one of lil' Ojou's questions which had filled everyone in the house (and the surrounding area) with absolute dread. This time he had not escaped.

"Um ...an orgasm... is something that happens between two people-" He was interrupted by Ojou.

"So, you can't get it yourself?"

"Well, you can but it's more enjoyable when it's not just you"

"...like a road trip?" Wakamatsu nodded but then a thought caught Ojou "Hold on, it happens? I thought you got it." She put tiny fists on her waist as if she thought he was not being serious with her.

"Well, you get, you give, and sometimes it happens before you want it to..." He trailed off slightly embarrassed.

"Why is that?"

"Well, guys sometimes try to get there in a hurry"

"So, it's a place? I thought you said you give it or take it!" Ojou was getting more confused by the minute. "...can you give a place? ...like... real estate?" Ojou said aloud more to herself. Wakamatsu scratched his head. His wife had just dropped by to see what was taking him so long and overheard the conversation he had with Ojou. Wakamatsu's wife, having been the one they turned to when all hell broke loose with one of Ojou's questions, had decided to butt in.

"You're confusing the child!" Wakamatsu's wife said to him while lightly slapping his arm. She directed her attention to Ojou and said "Ojou, all you need to remember is that if you want one you need to be driving. Don't let him drive." She said emphatically as she pointed at the young heir.

"Why is that?" Confused as to what driving had to do with all that. She figured it was to get to the place where she would give or receive the orgasm or the real estate property.

"Because you'll be lucky if you get there 'cause boys think they know what they're doing even when they clearly don't. And, they don't like asking for directions"

"Is it that easy to get lost getting there?" Wakamatsu's wife laughed as if Ojou had asked the most clever question.

"That's the thing, child. It really isn't that hard but they still get lost. What's so hard about front and center, huh?" She said giving a meaningful look to Wakamatsu. Wakamatsu just winced as he looked away like a puppy who'd been scolded. She turned over to her husband and continued "And, slowing down wouldn't hurt either" She hooked her arm around Wakamatsu's as she dragged him outside. Her voice trailing off and all that could be heard was a faint "and what the hell was that last night?" and something about being vaccinated slower than that. But, Ojou didn't understand what speed and syringes had to do with who drives the car and with giving, getting or letting the real estate deal go through. She decided to go the the training room and ask Kyou-san instead.

Kyou saw Ojou's head peering through the sliding door. He stopped his training and motioned for her to come in. As she did, she thought about all the information she had been given.

"Hey, Ojou. Do you want to train now?" He said ruffling her hair. She sighed.

"Nah. Not right now."

Things couldn't get any more confusing than they had gotten with Wakamatsu and his wife, could they?

She strengthened her resolve and said "What's an orgasm? And, what does it have to do with cars, syringes, and real estate?" Kyou-san blushed 10 shades of red as he looked around to make sure no one had heard the question.

"Weeell..." Ojou said a bit impatient. She started tapping her foot with her arms folded across her chest. Kyou was a bit confused about the whole syringes thing.

"O-ojou, I don't know what it has to do with syringes." He said shrugging. He hoped she had forgotten about the other stuff, but he was out of luck.

"Then, what's an orgasm? And, what does it have to do with cars, real estate and who gets to drive?".

"You see... You get an orgasm when you... I mean, a boy... When two people..." Kyou sighed. He rubbed his temples in light rotations to try to stave off the headache he felt about to come. He told himself he could handle this question.

Seeing Kyou-san having so much trouble, Ojou got the notion that maybe he didn't know what an orgasm was. I mean, if he didn't even know what syringes had to do with it when Wakamatsu's wife had clearly mentioned them... So, to help Kyou-san out, Ojou said "Wakamatsu's wife said that I should be the one driving because boys don't ask for directions." Kyou's eye twitched at this. Of course, he couldn't really deny it either so he simply hung his head in apology for the members of his sex.

"Well, you can let the boy drive but if you don't like the way he drives you need to tell him and you need to make sure that he listens."

"Do you listen?"

Kyou thought for awhile. The memories of a few women stiffening and then giving him the dreaded tap on the shoulder drifted past his eyes. "Not as much as I should, Ojou. Not as much as I should" Kyou sighed.

"Then, what happens if I don't tell him?" She really didn't see what was so important about complaining about someone's driving skills. She figured if he gets a ticket then he gets a ticket.

"Ojou, if you don't, he'll get there before you if you even get there at all. And that, my dear Ojou, will make you very frustrated." Now she knew he didn't make any sense.

"But, how can two people be in the same car and not arrive to the place at the same time or even have one of them not arrive at all?"

"Ojou, listen to me." He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her sternly. "Whatever you do, if you let the guy drive, make sure you like how he drives; otherwise, _you_ drive if you really want to get there. OK?" Ojou nodded not knowing what she was agreeing to. Kyou-san took his hands off Ojou's shoulders and was about to leave the training room when he heard Ojou's voice say...

"But I don't even know how to drive!"

"Exactly!" Kyou said as he turned around pointing at her. "And, don't you forget that!" With that, Kyou-san left for the kitchen leaving a very confused Ojou. She walked to the living room without thinking. There, gathering some papers, was Kuroda's lawyer Furukawa.

"Hi, Furukawa-jiisan" said Ojou. Kuroda's lawyer was a very serious man not one to joke around. She thought if anyone would give her a straight answer it would be him.

"Hey, Ojou. Could you hold these for me?" He gave Ojou some heavy folders to carry while he looked for some particular document which he thought he had forgotten. Ojou's hand's trembled with the heavy weight of the folders. She waited patiently to ask her question. Furukawa-jiisan didn't look at her but could feel her intense stare. Without stopping his search for the elusive document, he asked "Is something on your mind?"

"Y-yeah. I was wondering... what's an o-orgasm?" She strained with the heavy weight.

He thought for awhile and simply said "Muscle spasms" as he continued to rummage through desks and drawers.

Now, she was totally confused. "So, if I am having a muscle spasm I am getting an orgasm?"

"Yes"

She wondered if the others did not know what they were talking about. Had they lied or was he playing a trick on her? Furukawa-jiisan was known for his odd sense of humor. There was a remote possibility that he was joking. After all, the others had all agreed with the slowly driving to the real estate property while obeying traffic laws definition of what an orgasm was. Though she still couldn't see how syringes came into play. Was there a connection between orgasms, muscle spasms and driving, speed or syringes? As she was about to ask, Furukawa-jiisan found the document he needed and took the folders from Ojou's hands. The sudden release of the weight left Ojou's arm muscles hurting and before she knew it her muscles started contracting involuntarily. Excitedly, she said a little bit too loud "Am I getting an orgasm?!"

This, of course, made the serious Furukawa lawyer turn. All his carefully arranged papers fell to the floor making a big mess. Ojou shoved her muscle contracting arm towards him to show him the contractions. Furukawa-jiisan stifled a laugh and said "No, Ojou. It is a specific muscle." A small curve of the lip was the only indication of his amusement at the child as he bent down to pick up the papers hastily.

"Which muscle?" And, as an afterthought added, "...and what does it have to do with driving and syringes?" Furukawa-jiisan didn't want to get into that. He decided that a prompt exit was in order. He didn't even bother to put the papers in order.

"Oooh, I've gotta go. I'm gonna be late." He yelled as he walked towards the door. Looking back he waved at her good-bye and said "Be a good girl, Ojou!"

Ojou ran after the lawyer and yelled at the top of her lungs "BUT, I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT AN ORGASM IS. WHICH MUSCLE IS IT? ...AND, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH DRIVING?" The neighbors, hearing this, closed their doors afraid that they would be the next to be asked. Kousuke from the Wada group who was about to go into the Kuroda household to do some business with the Kuroda Kumichou decided to turn around and do business at another time after hearing the young heir's outburst. Her grandfather and Kyou decided to push dinner a little earlier to occupy Ojou's mouth with chewing instead of such questions.

* * *

_A/N_:

1. The limerick - I don't think it is necessary to actually write the limerick. Besides this is a T rating.

2. Police ranks - Obviously not the ones used in Japan. However, this particular rank system is a mixture of several police hierarchy systems.

3. Fuji - Honestly, I hate Fuji in the manga. This is surprising considering how many chapters I have dedicated to Fuji (even if the Fuji I am 'talking' about is the father of the Fuji in the manga). There is just something wrong about a talking dog in a yakuza manga (even if no one understands the dog). Still, as an actual dog I do love Fuji. Every person should have a dog (or at least a pet that takes some caring and effort) while they grow up. I think it tends to make you more caring and compassionate. I hope I have successfully portrayed him as a 'real' dog.

4. Cosmopolitan - I am not sure if Japan has Cosmopolitan. I tried googling and saw Cosmopolitans from almost everywhere around the world but didn't see Japan. I may have missed it or they don't have it. In any event, assume they do. I really had never opened a Cosmopolitan in my life. That is until now as research for this chapter (and a future chapter). Oh, the pain! The pain! The majority of the articles seemed to be about 'How to make _him _happy' or 'How to make sure he doesn't leave you'. WTF? That's all I'm saying about that... I am still writhing in pain. XP

5. Cosmo Headlines - I mentioned 5 headlines. (1)(2)(4) were taken from actual Cosmopolitans. (3)(5) are paraphrased headlines from actual Cosmopolitans after reading the articles. Argh!

6. Considering that in the manga Minoru and Tetsu offer to hold Shinohara down while Ojou has her way with him, I figured Kuroda's only concern would be her age.

7. As much as I would like to claim them as my own, I must admit that the line _What is so hard about front and center? _came from the show Coupling and the line _I've been vaccinated slower than that!_ came from the show Frasier. I like Coupling but I am a **big **fan of Frasier. And though I am certain that none of the writers of these shows are reading my humble lil' fic, I do hope that (in some level) they let me borrow these lines. All I can do is mention this small disclaimer.

_A/N (Unrelated to the story)_:

1. So you guys know I have an unhealthy obsession with Ninja Warrior. Did you guys see the three representatives G4 sent? They displayed a level of sportsmanship that was refreshing to see. I was quite happy and impressed.


	19. Debriefing Sessions

_A/N_: Merry Christmas! This is my gift to you. I tried writing another chapter to upload along with this one, but I do take a long time to write, and it isn't quite done. I don't know if it will be done for Epiphany. I might try to write a one shot that has been in my mind for a while now but I am not making any promises.

**Warning**: Bad language. Sorry, sorry, sorry...

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

_**Debriefing Sessions (age 10)**_

Kuroda had spent a lot of time considering the Kataguri-Ishimaru situation. He wanted to do something... anything! But with the yakuza's proclivity to jump to conclusions (not to mention their act-now-ask-questions-later knee-jerk reaction) doing anything for the sake of doing something would be as unwise as wearing mittens to dismantle a bomb: there is a slim chance you might succeed, but more likely, the outcome will be a resounding BOOM, which is the reason why Kuroda had spent so much time studying the situation.

He was at least thankful for two things: first, the Kataguri Kumichou's even temper, for a yakuza that is, which is really neither here nor there; second, the Ishimarus stay in Japan will last only one more year.

Oh, he didn't harbor illusions that Kataguri's good disposition would be enough to stop the situation from deteriorating. All Kuroda hoped was for one year of tense calm until the time Lisa Ishimaru and her family left Japan.

Of course, he knew he would have to talk to Kataguri himself about Lisa-san. However, seeing as he had no idea what he could possibly say to convince Kataguri of the benefits of sparing Lisa-san's life, he decided to hold off on it for now. He also knew he could not hold off on it forever because there would be no such talk if Lisa-san found out (and printed) any of Kataguri's shadier _business_ dealings. In the meantime, he instructed his men to watch and report, along with the unspoken order to subtly distract her from meeting an informant: a bump here, a missed call there, just enough to maintain the uneasy stalemate while still claiming non-involvement (however loosely that may be).

-o-

_At the Kuroda house..._

The kumi milled around the conference room while they waited for Kuroda. Idle chatter and speculations filled the air which escalated to gambling with Kyou center stage taking in several bets as to the likelihood of this situation turning into a yakuza war. Amidst all the hubbub, the Kuroda Boss stepped in, causing the room to quickly quiet down.

The sudden change in the room went unnoticed by Kuroda. He walked briskly, looking neither left nor right.

The kumi's eyes followed him as he made his way towards the front of the room. Once there, Kuroda asked, "What have we got?"

Failing to get a response, he added impatiently, "Well?"

The tone of his voice suggested someone better say something... quickly. The kumi scrambled to respond.

"No news on my end, Boss." Kuroda acknowledged the report with a nod of the head.

"None on mine either." Wakamatsu added which was followed by similar reports coming from the rest of the kumi, that is, until Toru spoke.

"Word on the street is Lisa-san's pregnant." He said hesitantly.

Approving murmurs spread across the room. The general consensus being that now Lisa-san would stop working and thus stop meddling in Kataguri's affairs. It was Tsuji who (vaguely) verbalized such conclusion.

"That'd make things simpler."

Kuroda snorted dubiously.

The Boss' reaction puzzled a few of the kumi, and Kyou said with shocked incredulity, "Surely, she'll take it easy now."

Kuroda shook his head. Having spoken several times with her, had given him the impression that she was going to be... _difficult_.

"You'd think", was all Kuroda said.

-o-

_Meanwhile..._

**(slam)**

Yoshiro and the young heir, who had been in the living room playing with a soccer ball, heard the door slam. Knowing that his parents did not like him playing soccer inside the house had rendered the two children in an apparent game of Red Light Green Light. At this moment they were on red light. And if the one that had slammed the door was one of Yoshiro's parents then they were in big trouble.

Legs apart and arms extended, they waited frozen. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the soccer ball rebounding as its kinetic energy slowly dissipated.

A soft mumble was heard. Yoshiro and young Ojou looked at each other quizzically as if attempting to confirm the thought that had just entered their minds. If it had been one of Yoshiro's parents, a mumble would not be the sound expected.

They ventured to turn around to see a very agitated Meiko. She had just arrived at the house and was rummaging through her purse for some isolated object.

It was surprising that someone as young as Meiko had a purse big enough for things to get lost in considering that the size of a woman's purse is directly proportional to her age. Well, actually, it increases exponentially with age but we're not trying to write an exact formula... just a broad approximation. I mean, otherwise we would have to consider time of day, marital status, number of kids, etc as variables to this equation. However, age is the defining factor in this equation (as x approaches infinity, a.k.a. death, the purse becomes bigger regardless of the other variables)... _ahem_, but I digress.

_"C'mon. C'mon. C'mon."_ Meiko kept mumbling. The scraping sound of items being set aside filling the air. Yoshiro and Ojou approached Meiko carefully.

"What is it Meiko?" Yoshiro asked his sister. She continued her search for the item without answering.

"I guess she won't say." The young heir shrugged looking at Yoshiro.

Meiko's forehead beaded with sweat as her panic escalated.

"You think she's gone mad?" Yoshiro & Ojou looked at Meiko with open curiosity. Meiko, on the other hand, was getting irritated by the children's fascination with her.

"Will you two knock it off?!" Meiko said without looking at them. And because little siblings (and their friends) are always enthralled by their big siblings (or at least find them a source of morbid curiosity) they continued watching her, unfazed by her words.

"When are mom & dad getting home?" Meiko asked worriedly.

Yoshiro looked at the clock on the corner of the room.

"...about 10 minutes... give or take a few" Yoshiro informed his sister.

_"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?"_ Meiko's face was beginning to flush as the thought of her mother finding out... but it was better not to think about that. Positive thoughts, that was what she needed.

Of course, the item in question would have been easier to find if women didn't have the tendency of keeping everything in their purses. If a woman has a purse, rarely an item gets thrown out. Should a nuclear attack take place and wipe out half of humanity, you could be sure that if there were women around with their purses, humanity would survive.

"What are you looking for?" Meiko ignored the young heir as she proceeded to turn her purse upside down letting all its contents spill out.

Yoshiro and Ojou looked through her things with interest. There was some money, of course. However, aside from that and the staple makeup and keys, Meiko kept in her purse the oddest things. There was a stub for some movie from about a year ago. Not that it was of any use. She had a small sewing kit like the complimentary sewing kits given by some hotels. She had 3 stray distinct buttons which probably came with the sewing kit. She had kleenex and a bunch of papers. She had sunblock, moisturizers, hand sanitizers, pens, aspirin, tums, you name it... she had it. She had a mobile mini CVS in her purse.

"What's this?" Yoshiro picked up a piece of candy which seemed to have been there for ages. The wrapping so wrinkled and dusty it looked like it might disintegrate at any moment. Young Ojou leaned in to look at the object in Yoshiro's hand.

"Candy from the Edo era." The young heir said teasingly.

Now, it is rare that a woman empties the content of her purse in public. So, if you've seen the contents of a woman's purse, consider yourself lucky. However, that still doesn't mean that she'll like you touching her stuff.

Meiko scowled at her brother's little friend then snatched the piece of candy from Yoshiro's hand. She proceeded to place it back in her purse to the surprise of both children. "Just don't touch anything." She said extending her arms protectively over her scattered possessions.

"Oi, Meiko. Shouldn't you just throw that piece of candy?" Yoshiro asked pointing to her purse.

"Yeah, you should probably bury it by now." Yoshiro smiled at young Kumiko's remark.

"Har dee fucking har" Meiko said to the amusement of Ojou. Yoshiro, not used to this kind of language, was surprised.

"Aaah! You said the 'F' word!!" Yoshiro yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her. Young Ojou never really knew what the word meant. But, she had heard the word so many times from the kumi that she had casually translated it as an expression of anger. She definitely did not know you were not supposed to use it.

"Fucking? Fuck is a bad word? Really?! What does it mean?" Young Ojou asked Meiko who at this time had slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. Ojou then looked at Yoshiro.

"It's a bad word." Yoshiro answered uncertainly.

"You said that already." The young heir said slightly irritated.

"But..." She turned to face Yoshiro. "...what does it mean?"

"I don't know", answered Yoshiro with a shrug.

"Then, why are you making fun of her?"

"You just shouldn't say it." Yoshiro said boldly with a slight tilt to his chin.

"Well, that's stupid! I wanna know what's so bad about it!" Ojou demanded stubbornly, clenched fists resting on her waist.

"It's just bad, OK. Nice people don't say that." Meiko rubbed her temples.

"So, you're not nice."

Meiko's eye started twitching. She tried counting to 10 to calm herself down before saying, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to say the word."

"You mean, fuck?" Young Ojou repeated with a mischievously glint in her eyes. She was aware she was getting on Meiko's nerves but she couldn't help herself.

Meiko let out an audible sigh of frustration.

The young heir kept wondering what was the big deal about the word. After all, the kumi used it often and without reservation. To suddenly find out that the word was bad was... surprising to say the least. She'd definitely need to ask her grandfather about it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Yoshiro.

"Well what the..." Yoshiro stopped himself. Picking up the item that had piqued his curiosity, he said, "Why in the world would you have travel sized garbage bags."

The f-word conversation was pushed aside.

The young Kuroda heir had only marginally paid attention to what Yoshiro was saying as her eyes studied in disbelief one particular item.

"It's probably to throw the toilet paper she uses." She said picking up the toilet-paper-on-the-go Meiko had been carrying in her purse. "I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go"

Yoshiro snickered at young Ojou's remark; though, a thought crossed his mind prompting him to ask.

"Seriously though, you don't go around pooping on bushes and stuff. Do ya?"

"Of course not! Don't be stupid!!" She snatched both items from the children.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch anything?!"

The children placed their hands behind their backs but continued to stare at her questioningly.

Uncomfortable with the pointed stare, Meiko explained.

"Sometimes when you go to a public bathroom there isn't any toilet paper." At that, the two children nodded satisfied. That is, until Yoshiro thought about the garbage bags.

"What about the garbage bags?"

Meiko shrugged.

"It's always good to be prepared." This answer didn't convince the two children who looked at each other puzzled.

"I told ya it was to put the used toilet paper." Young Ojou said casually with a shrug. The nerve on Meiko's temple was throbbing.

"OK, you guys. I don't have time for this. I need your help. I... _borrowed_ mom's earrings for my date last night and I can't find them. I need to put them back before mom and dad get home."

"Why should I help you?" Yoshiro asked not really sympathizing with his sister's predicament.

"Why you litt-" She narrowed her eyes at him but did not finish her sentence. Instead, Meiko took a few steps towards Yoshiro.

To young Ojou's amusement, Meiko leaned forward and fixed her little brother intently with her gaze.

"Because I am your big sister and you need to do as I say."

Yoshiro took a few cowering steps back before Meiko straightened up and folded her arms across her chest.

"You were saying..." Meiko said in open challenge.

Yoshiro's response was a series of um's and ah's punctuated by a brief moment of dread until he finally managed to say, "Um... what were you looking for?"

"That's what I thought." She smiled smugly.

Meanwhile, young Ojou's attention was distracted by two shiny objects glinting beside one of the sofa legs. She slowly approached the glinting objects and bent down to retrieve them.

"Are these what you were looking for?" She showed them to Meiko who sighed in relief at the sight. She snatched the earrings from young Ojou's hand and inspected them for just a second.

"Thanks, ya squirt." She gave one of Ojou's little pigtails a twirl before she ran to her parents' bedroom and placed the earrings back in her mother's jewelry box.

-o-

_The following day at the Kuroda house while the kumi tried watching TV..._

"Why do we keep watchin' this show? We all know the cops are gonna get 'im!" A very annoyed Toru stood up and faced the crowd of kumi around the TV.

"Hey! What d'ya think yer doin'?" Tsuji leaned to the side to look over Toru while gesturing with his hands for Toru to move. This was quickly followed by more protests from the rest of the kumi with hand gestures and everything.

"Get outta da fuckin' way!"

"C'mon, don't be sucha dickhead!"

"Hell! Yer interruptin' the TV program!"

The young heir listened to them carefully, recalling Meiko and Yoshiro's conversation about the f-word.

"You guys know that fuck is a bad word?"

Never mind THE word was among a slew of questionable words being thrown about. The young heir didn't know.

The kumi looked at each other not knowing what to do. They started muttering softly amongst themselves, all thoughts of the TV program forgotten.

"Why is it a bad word?" She asked when no one responded to her previous question.

For a few moments, the whole room fell silent. The TV droned on in the background until the muttering resumed only to be interrupted by Wakamatsu.

"Eh... Boss! We're gonna go... Um..." Wakamatsu tried to come up with an excuse without much success.

"do that thing" Dai helped out, never mind what the thing was. He peered from behind Wakamatsu.

"Yeah, that thing..." another one trailed off.

"Uh-huh. Just give us a call if you need us." Kyou gave a nervous toothy grin as he shoved the ones in front of him towards the door.

In the distance a kumi was heard saying...

_"Just give us a call?"_

This was accompanied by a shove and a slap on the back of Kyou's head.

_"Why did you have to put ideas in his head?"_

A few 'shshshs' were heard and then Dai was heard saying _"We were in the clear"_.

_"What if he calls us now? I'm not explainin' nothing."_ Wakamatsu whispered.

The Kuroda Boss sighed. He resigned himself that this was payback for not having been a hands on father with his own daughter. Yep, payback's a bitch.

As he tried to explain, that niggling feeling of self preservation took over and sent him from one euphemism to another. Thereafter, Kuroda banned the kumi from cursing. Needless to say this didn't last very long. It wasn't that the kumi had no self-restraint... O.K. maybe that had a little to do with it. Still, if that had been the only reason then this little experiment on minding their mouth would have lasted a bit longer than it did. No. The reason for the early failure of this forced change of behavior was due to two little incidents no one wants to discuss...

-o-

_At school, during recess, and because children love sharing information no matter how convoluted it may be..._

"Yoshiro, do you know what fuck means?"

"What?"

"It's just war." Seeing Yoshiro's look of disbelieve , the young heir added, "Grandpa told me so."

"Why would that make it a bad word?" Yoshiro asked screwing up his face.

"Geez, Yoshiro! War is always bad."

"I don't know..." Yoshiro said, uncertainly, before adding, "Are you sure you understood what he said?"

"Of course I did. It's where you send your men to certain death whether by the inhospitable environment, chemical warfare or a barrier. Though grandpa said you have to have open borders with the other person.

"How do you have open borders with someone?" Yoshiro asked young Ojou.

"Don't know" The young Kuroda heir said as she pensively tapped her lips with the tip of her left index finger.

"The way I see it, it's really like the kumi. You have your clans. Each clan has its own territory. " She paused for a few seconds before adding, "And there are a few clans that look for any opportunity to take over another clan's territory."

"I see" Yoshiro said. "Except these people are scarier than the kumi."

"Well, yeah!" Young Ojou agreed. "The kumi would never resort to chemical warfare or inhospitable environments to defend themselves."

"Oh, that makes sense." Yoshiro nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yep, that's why you're fucked." The young Kuroda heir concluded.

And, this is how the game of 'fuck you' was born (created by none other than our young Kuroda heir with a little help from Yoshiro) and in which each game's end was marked by the victor screaming 'Fuck you' to the loser.

It was Ishikawa-sensei who heard the expletive being thrown as a victory quote. She promptly dragged the children inside the school, ending the game in the process. Once inside, she asked for an explanation. She looked around the group of children until her eyes found our young Kuroda heir. Ms Ishikawa's shoulders visibly sagged accompanied by an audible groan.

Young Kumiko (clearly confused) asked, "What?!"

Needless to say, Kuroda was called and young Ojou got detention for said game.

-o-

Once a child realizes they won't get a straight answer from the adults, they look to the only other source of information they can rely on: their peers. They gather together and pool all the information they have in order to reach a conclusion, no matter how convoluted it may be.

"No, no. That's not it." Tatsuya, The Tank, Ookawa said. "It is not a war but a party."

"Pfft. Why would a party be a bad word?" Young Kumiko said rolling her eyes at such a ridiculous idea.

"I don't know but I'm telling you I've seen my dad take out a balloon from this little box." Ookawa insisted.

"One balloon?" Yoshiro asked incredulously. "For a party?".

"No, no!" The young heir said as understanding dawned on her. "It's not a party. I think I know what you're talking about and that is no balloon. It's a shield used for protection." Young Ojou explained.

"So, we're back to it being a war?" Eiichi Watanabe, Mr Hawaii himself, asked

"I think Kumichou is right. It is a war", said Rini. After all, Rini's mother, being pregnant, had attempted to take her aside and explain (to some extent) where babies came from which supposedly involved the f-word.

"...just like in the battle of Normandy... and if you want to get pregnant you have the seamen look for the egg."

"What?"

"The battle of who?"

"Who said anything about an egg?"

"The battle of Normandy." Rini said visibly annoyed and added, "It was the one with the largest seaborne invasion in history."

"Well, fuck may be a war." Yoshiro said. "but I don't think it has anything to do with getting pregnant let along finding an egg."

"That's right. It'd be a waste of naval units", Eiichi, Mr Hawaii, Watanabe agreed.

"Maybe it's an American thing... 'cause I'm sure Japan would not deploy the navy let alone large numbers of it just for a freaking egg."

"You guys don't know what you're talking about." It was Tomiko who said this. "It is when two people lay on top of each other and wrestle."

"Oh c'mon! Wrestling, a bad thing?" Young Kumiko balked at the thought. "I enjoy a good wrestling match... and that don't make me no fucker." A few of the group murmured in agreement.

This went on for awhile until Shoda spoke up.

"Nonono.... you guys are confusing everything..." Therein, Shoda proceeded to explain the facts of life as seen from the perspective of a humble farm boy, grossing out all that were around.

This is how a very upset young heir stormed into the Kuroda house and yelled...

"YOU ARE ALL DISGUSTING!!!"

-o-

A/N:

1. red light green light - I know most people know how to play this game. However, I try to explain or at least put a website for the benefit of my international readers. For rules on the game red light green light check out the following website (take out the spaces)

http://www. gameskidsplay. net/GAMES/sensing_games/rl_gl. htm

2. Edo Era - Also called Tokugawa period (Tokugawa-jidai), is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration. The Edo period is also known as the beginning of the early modern period of Japan. (as read by Wikipedia)

3. CVS - A well known pharmacy. Comparable to Rite Aid or Longs, for you west coast people.

4. The only reason why I used the battle of Normandy was because it was the largest _seaborne _invasion in history. Hmm. You know, because of all the... _seamen_. For info on the battle of Normandy see the following website (take out the spaces) http://www. u-s-history. com/pages/h1749. html

A/N2:

a. I had actually spent time making up THE game (rules and everything); however, the whole thing ended up among the 'deleted scenes' of my story.

b. I (again) apologize for all the cursing. I really had a hard time trying to find a good middle ground between how much cursing I needed due to the kumi's vulgar nature, how much I needed because the story needed it, and how much I could keep and still remain T rated. As it is, I worry I deleted too much. Hmmm Oh well, let me know what you think.

c. Last chapter was about how uncomfortable it is for adults to face children's questions. In this one, I wanted to concentrate on the child's perspective at being unable to get a decent answer.

d. I realize nowadays a lot of 10 yr old kids are not as innocent but I think one can still find some that are.


	20. Pushed

**_A/N_**: This is a continuation from last chapter. And whereas I find it a bit repetitive to keep talking about the birds and the bees, it is necessary for the story as it is part of growing up. This should, hopefully, be the last chapter addressing it. Like it? Hate it? Let me know.

**Edited**: On 05/06/09 added around 3 sentences (close to the end).

Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is.

-o-o-

_**Previously on GUY**__: _

"Nonono.... you guys are confusing everything..." Therein, Shoda proceeded to explain the facts of life as seen from the perspective of a humble farm boy, grossing out all that were around.

This is how a very upset young heir stormed into the Kuroda house and yelled...

"YOU ARE ALL DISGUSTING!!!"

-o-o-

_**Pushed (age 10)**_

_'Oh brother! Here we go again.'_ The Kuroda Boss thought. The last thing he needed was a repeat of the Halloween incident. Then, the kumi had been so upset, it had taken quite a bit of cajoling to get their attention back on yakuza dealings.

He surveyed the room unwillingly. As predicted, the kumi were crushed.

In retrospect, they should be immune to such pronouncements. After all, it wasn't the first time they'd been accused of being 'disgusting'. In fact, they had been accused of much worse; though, not necessarily to their faces. And considering the fact that the name yakuza itself was sort of a self deprecating way of referring to themselves **[1]**, one would think that a 10 year old girl proclaiming them disgusting wouldn't even register in their radar. Yet, there they were, looking all dejected, quivering lips and all. Then again, this was Ojou, the child of the kumi.

Kuroda shook his head in disbelief and fought the urge to roll his eyes. With a barely perceptible sigh, he guided his granddaughter towards the dining room, away from the gloomy kumi. Once there, he sat her down and tried to find out what had triggered such an outburst. Ojou was reluctant and embarrassed at first, but after a bit of coaxing, she started talking. As he muddled through Ojou's account, understanding slowly seeped in followed by Kuroda's laugh.

"What's that for?" She asked puzzled. "It ain't funny!" She exclaimed quite annoyed.

"Ah, sorry." He said humoring her. After composing himself, he added, "Please, go on."

He listened attentively, and every once in a while, he'd cover his mouth as if in deep reflection when in reality he was just trying really hard not to laugh. She didn't ask for clarification, and he didn't offer one.

It seemed that the children (having pooled their collective knowledge) had come to a conclusion as to what the f-word meant. The end result had been crude and lacking a few key points here and there but (for the most part) accurate. On the plus side, he surmised, he won't be asked about this subject matter again. This suited him just fine.

His musings were interrupted by movement to his right. A slight turn of the head revealed his granddaughter lurking by the entryway which connected the living room to the dining room.

He regarded her with curiosity.

Oh, this ought to be good.

She slowly leaned sideways, just enough to peer through the entryway. From her concealed position, she cast a suspicious eye over the roomful of kumi.

The smallest of smirks crossed Kuroda's face as he continued observing his granddaughter. He pondered... if little girls were made of sugar and spice and everything nice then his granddaughter must have gotten a big dose of spice... the pungent tart kind.

-o-

_Three weeks later..._

The walk from Uomasa-san's shop to the Kuroda house had seemed shorter than usual. Most likely because her mind was occupied with fragments of a conversation she wasn't meant to overhear. Once at the house, she slid out of her shoes and let the schoolbag drop to the floor carelessly before heading towards the TV room where she was sure the kumi were. After all, they had the habit of lounging in this area when they were not busy with yakuza business. It also helped that she heard the TV blaring all the way from the living room.

She stood to the side and studied them with bemused curiosity.

Kyou was picking at his toes. Wakamatsu was on his feet, stretching as he scratched his stomach. Dai and Toru were fighting for the most comfortable seat facing the TV causing a few of the kumi to throw at them whatever they could get their hands on. Meanwhile, Tsuji, who was shuffling towards the kitchen, let one rip **[2]**. There was no pause or warning beforehand. Afterward, there was no acknowledgement to this rear expulsion by either Tsuji or the kumi – mostly because the dispersion of the gaseous emission was slow so that it hovered and trailed Tsuji like the exhaust of a plane, _and_ the kumi weren't close enough to experience full force this posterior purging, _yet_.

Young Ojou tilted her head and cocked a confused eyebrow. Deeply absorbed in thought, she failed to notice her grandfather standing by the door.

He watched her for a couple of minutes, leaning sideways against the doorjamb, arms folded across his chest.

She looked upwards, quietly searching for answers to some unknown question. When that didn't seem to work, she lowered her head and furrowed her brow in deep concentration. She returned a mystified gaze towards the kumi before her attention was drawn away from her thoughts by her grandfather's approaching steps.

"Ojou." He said her name as a greeting.

She turned to her grandfather with a confused look on her face. She bit the right corner of her lower lip and for a short while pondered whether to ask him or not. Making up her mind, and because Ojou wasn't one to beat around the bush, she opened her mouth to ask...

"If you're supposed to pass a test in order to have a baby..." She hesitated midway to steal one more glance at the kumi – who were now sniffing the air suspiciously just as Tsuji returned from the kitchen – before turning a perplexed face to her grandfather. "How _low_ can your score be and still pass?" She emphasized the word _low_, tactfully (or as tactfully as one can get while inadvertently insulting someone).

Bewildered and amused, Kuroda didn't know whether to laugh or frown. It took a few seconds to wrestle the smile threatening to emerge before he explained to his granddaughter that pregnancy tests where not written tests that men and women take to check if they are allowed to procreate but a test that women take to see if they are already pregnant.

She looked at the kumi one last time just as the offending stench had finally reached them.

"Aaaw, Tsuji!" One kumi turned his head disgusted while another pinched his nose.

"Geez, light a match!" yet another kumi exclaimed as he gave a snort while flaring his nostrils like a bull about to charge.

"Oi, whaddaya want me t'do?! I could die if I hold it in!" was Tsuji's only explanation.

She looked back at her grandfather and nodded in understanding.

-o-

_Five weeks later..._

Kuroda couldn't find his gun anywhere. It was unlike him to misplace it. Then again, guns weren't his weapon of choice, katanas were.

He looked at the katana prominently displayed in his study.

There was something about the feel of it in his hand that was empowering and humbling at the same time.

He picked it up and hefted it experimentally. For a few moments he considered taking the katana instead.

He examined the blade's edge.

There was nothing more intimidating than seeing that long sharp blade being swung at you.

He took a practiced swing and thrust in the air before giving it an appreciative look.

You also needed skill to wield a katana whereas with a gun, well, any idiot could carry a gun seeing as the only real skill needed was the ability to aim.

He carefully placed the katana back on its display stand and resumed the search for his gun.

Nowadays, you attract too much attention carrying something that long and bulky.

Whatever his personal preference, he had to admit guns had their uses. For one, they were easier to conceal. Two, they were easy to maneuver with them in close quarters. (Though these two can easily be achieved with a kaiken.) Three, they had a longer range (relative to a katana). Four, there was also a level of intimidation involved with a gun. Still, for the most part, it was a wretched way to fight, let alone die. There was something so disturbingly flippant about it. BANG and you're dead (if you aim right). There was no honor in it. There was no acknowledgement or respect towards the other person. It was as mundane as scratching your ass: you might get the itch but in the end all you'll have are smelly fingers. Which brings to mind the reasons why Kuroda would carry a gun: long-range advantage, utter disrespect for the other person. In this case it was long-range advantage what he sought, considering the large gathering and the many clans who were opposed to this meeting taking place.

Where the hell did he put that gun?

He was going to be late. And that, he thought painfully, would not be good.

**Ring**

He ignored the phone as he continued to rummage through the room going as far as squatting down to see if by any chance the gun might have fallen on the floor and hidden itself underneath a bookcase.

**Ring**

The phone, not getting it was been slighted, continued its incessant ringing.

**Ring**

He was on all fours, peering through crevices when he felt a tickle in his nose. _Ah-..._ He rubbed it with the back of his hand. _Ah-..._ He wiggled it a few times. _ Ah-choo!_ He sniffled.

**Ring**

Doggone it!

He stood up and dusted himself before, grudgingly, answering the phone. Whoever it was better have a good reason for calling because if he was late, he'd have to kill someone, literally.

"Hello." Kuroda said irritatedly.

It was Ms. Ishikawa, again. Excellent.

"What has she done now?" He grumbled as he sat on his desk chair. Rummaging through his desk drawers –Where the hell was his freakin' gun?– he paid scant attention to Ms. Ishikawa. In all honesty, it wasn't just the search for the elusive gun which had him half-listening to Sensei but also her tendency to worry too much, particularly about things that were of little to no importance. Whatever this was, he was sure it would be nothing.

He continued rummaging and opened the bottom desk drawer only to see the scowling image of his daughter staring back at him, almost accusingly. His hand drifted tenderly over the scowling face, a gentleness born of regret. He remembered when it was taken, just a few days before he had basically disowned her. He smiled bitterly. Technically, he hadn't come right out and disowned her, but it had been understood... things had been said... they were both stubborn. Hmm.

The scowling face didn't budge.

He rubbed his forehead and grimaced.

Aaah, hell! He sighed guiltily.

He should probably listen to Ishikawa's concern. I mean, just to make sure it really was nothing.

The thought was offered as appeasement to the scowling image in the chemically-exposed glossy piece of paper. The image, still scowling, offered no response.

_"Kuroda-san?... Kuroda-san?"_ Ishikawa's voice interrupted his thoughts.

_"Yes."_ Kuroda muttered almost in surrender, surprising not only Sensei but himself as well.

He quickly covered the scowling face with some papers before shutting the drawer.

Up ahead, he saw Kyou, hovering by the door, pretending to look for something –though quite unconvincingly. Kuroda's brows rose fleetingly before returning his attention back to Ms. Ishikawa. "Forgive me, Sensei."

Apparently, young Ojou had convinced one of her young classmates, a Tomiko... something... to be her 'Enforcer'. What was her last name now? Hmm... He remembered the Tomiko girl. She was only slightly shorter than Rini-chan. A bit on the heavy side, if he remembered correctly. Strong too.

"Definitely good enforcer material, for a 10 year old, that is."

There was a pause on the other line.

By now, Ms. Ishikawa was somewhat immune to Kuroda's unconventional outlook on life. Yet, she still didn't know how to respond. Her mind strayed around a million thoughts trying to find a way to relate to him.

It was that pregnant pause which made Kuroda groan inwardly.

_'Ms Ishikawa is __definitely__ going to read too much into it.'_

He knew this would be one of _those_ conversations. Honestly, he'd never seen a katagi trying so hard to get him to understand katagi ways. The undertone of these conversations was simple, she was wary of the yakuza. She would be stupid not to be. Yet, you'd think that as wary as she was of the yakuza, she'd have better sense than to press him (a yakuza boss) too hard. Apparently, she didn't, which made her incredibly dedicated; incredibly reckless; or incredibly stupid. He stopped musing when he noticed she hadn't said anything in a while.

"Ishikawa-sensei?" Kuroda asked, tentative. He half wondered if she was still on the line.

"Sensei?" Still, no response. He was thankful she wasn't prone to hysterics, quite surprising for someone that wasn't connected to the yakuza at all. And her experience dealing with elementary school children qualified her to deal with the more juvenile behavior of some of his men.

"Are you OK?"

He had been half-joking when he had asked, but Kyou didn't know this. Kuroda caught him listening in, fidgeting impatiently, having abandoned all pretenses. This wasn't lost on the Kuroda Boss.

Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, Ishikawa would make a good wife to a kumi.

"Why don't we discuss this later?" Ms. Ishikawa said from the other line.

...if she didn't spend her whole time discussing things to death.

"Sure. Sure" He said as patiently as he could manage. "Same time, same place?" This meant after dinner, at his house.

She agreed. She had long decided that discussing Kumiko-chan's _special needs_ required a different venue. There were too many eyes and ears in school, with young Ojou's knack for getting into trouble, she worried what Principal Takeda might do pressured by the other parents.

After ending the call, he gave up the search for his gun. He grabbed a kaiken and a katana then left for his meeting.

_A few hours later at Kuroda's house..._

Rini-chan had a play date with Ojou. It was the first time Lisa-san had agreed to let her daughter come over, so it was a very big deal in the Kuroda house. The kumi had been asked to make themselves scarce and if they needed to be there to be on their best behavior.

Needless to say, the house was practically deserted with the exception of Kyou who had been assigned to watch the children.

What ensued was a series of screeches interspersed by small periods of silence and peppered with a few thuds. Yep, thuds. The thuds being the children bounding up and down the stairs. Kyou didn't seem to mind the raucous. The way he saw it, it gave him an idea of where they were at all times. Besides, Fuji followed their every leap, bound and run. Of course, the tosa dog was not a pup anymore, and after awhile he started to wind down, trotting instead of running after them, tongue lolling out. A long stringy gravity-defying drool (hovering 3cm from the ground) broke loose & tangled on the tosa dog's legs only to be replaced by another gravity-defying one.

When the time to prepare dinner came, Kyou asked the girls to play in the backyard. The tosa dog dutifully followed them only to watch them from a prone position in front of the gate door.

"What do you think? We can decorate it as a surprise for grandpa's birthday." The young heir said showing Rini-chan an object.

"Don't know how you'd go about decorating one of those." Rini said pointing at the object.

"We can draw something. We'll cut it up then glue it on?" She gestured to the object in her hand.

"Hmm." Rini picked up the object and inspected it. "What about some glitter?"

The young heir looked at Rini-chan dubiously. "I don't know. Glitter?" Ojou took said object from Rini's hand.

"Hey, everything looks better with some glitter on it!" Rini-chan defended.

"Everything?" The young heir asked. Her eyes narrowed before a shared glance passed between the girls revealing a conspiratorial smile. Ever so slowly, they turned their attention to the tosa dog.

_... with Kuroda_

The meeting had gone as well as could be expected. There were no casualties and everything was resolved _amicably_, at least from Kuroda's point of view. Now the only thing left was to deal with Ishikawa-sensei's meeting. Entering the house, he heard the faint sound of children giggling. For a second there, he thought he was in the wrong house but the picture of his smiling wife on the wall convinced him otherwise. He concluded it was young Ojou and her friend. He followed the sound past the dining room through the kitchen. Kyou was there cooking dinner. Kuroda gave him a passing nod and continued following the sound all the way to the kitchen window which faced the backyard. It was strange to hear such noise coming from young Ojou. He hadn't known she was capable of it. A small trace of a smile was evident on his face as he concluded that it was good to hear her giggling.

From his vantage point, he couldn't make out what they were doing.

Kuroda turned his attention from the window to Kyou.

"What are they doing?" Kuroda tilted his head to gesture to the children playing in the backyard.

"Not sure, she won't let me see." Kyou shrugged before tasting the sauce to see if it was well seasoned. Smacking his lips, he determined it needed something though he wasn't sure what. "Says it's a surprise." He said while he opened the fridge.

A surprise, hmmm. Kuroda was concerned. He was about to look outside when the young heir stormed into the kitchen. When she saw her grandfather, she stopped on her tracks.

"Hi, grandpa." She managed to say while eying him warily. He had seen this behavior before, mainly from Fuji but a few times from the kumi. He didn't like it one bit.

"Ojou." He studied the young heir's face. "What are you doing?" He intoned suspiciously.

"Nooothing." She sang her response –the way a child does when they're hiding something– as she backed away slowly.

_'Definitely up to something'_, he mused.

When she had backed away all the way to the end of the stairs, she turned around and ran to her bedroom while screaming "Don't go outside! It's a surprise!"

The Kuroda Boss raised a speculative brow as he turned towards the kitchen window once more. He saw Rini busy herself with something while the tosa dog, whose eyes were fixed on the young girl, lay on the ground right in front of the gate door.

A minute later he heard his granddaughter running down the stairs. He turned his head in the direction of the sound.

**"Oi, no running down the stairs unless someone is trying to kidnap you or kill you!"**

She stopped abruptly and descended the steps as demurely as she could muster, which on young Ojou looked more like a hostess' walk. When she had descended enough that he could see her from where he was, he shook his head. Everything was exaggerated, shoulder tilt, swaying hips, batting eyes...

Geez, she's spending too much time with the hostesses.

As soon as she hit the landing, she ran up to the door leading to the backyard, a small paper bag in her hand.

He watched them curiously, and without turning to look at Kyou, he said "Ishikawa-sensei is coming tonight."

There was a drop of a spoon which the Kuroda Boss chose to ignore, for now.

_Ahem Ahem "Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes."_ Kyou muttered embarrassed, averting his eyes, which was unnecessary seeing as Kuroda hadn't turned around to look at him.

"Hmm" Kuroda grunted. "Is Rini-chan staying for dinner?"

From the kitchen window he saw the tosa dog sit up when the girls started running around the backyard like little tornadoes.

"Nah. Lisa-san just called saying she's on her way."

Kuroda let them run a few more minutes before calling them back in.

"You guys better clean up! Rini's mom will arrive soon!"

"In a minute!" was the young heir's singsonged response while she continued running as if he hadn't said anything.

He frowned to himself at what had become her customary response for almost everything lately. Shaking his head he turned away from the window. Kyou offered an apologetic shrug as he wiped his hands on a kitchen towel.

_After dinner..._

"Ojou, clean up all the stuff you left in the backyard!" The Kuroda Boss yelled to the retreating form of the young heir.

"In a minute!" She yelled back, still in that little rhythmic pattern that was beginning to annoy him. He watched perplexed as she ran up the stairs. To keep calm, he helped Kyou put away the dishes and waited a few more minutes but the young heir was still MIA **[3]** from the backyard.

"Ojou!" He yelled again towards the ceiling only to hear another "In a minute!" coming from the young heir.

Really, this little new saying of hers was grating on his nerves. He only hoped that this phase doesn't last long because a few more In-a-minute and he was going to lose it. Really, lose it!

He headed out to look at the mess his granddaughter left in the backyard.

There were pieces of paper strewn about in small upchuck piles along with some glue and two pairs of scissors.

It looked like the aftermath of a paper war. While he assessed the damage in the backyard, a glittery form somberly approached him, head bent down low, eyes cast down, tail tucked between his legs. And with each step it took, glitter peppered out of him like fairy dust.

Apparently paper hadn't been the only weapon used.

Poor Fuji had been exposed to several glitter explosions if the glitter pattern on his coat, paws and nose was any indication. The tosa dog grumbled as if complaining to the Kuroda Boss then let a glittery tongue hang out. The Kuroda Boss rolled his eyes and snorted.

Kuroda felt sorry for the dog who looked too indignant to even manage a tail shake. He squatted down and tried to rub off as much glitter as he could from the tosa dog .

The problem with glitter is that it sticks to everything. The more you try rubbing off, the more it stays put, and a critical look at Fuji told him the dog would need a good hose down (or several).

He stood up and was about to yell back for Ojou to clean up the mess when he saw something unexpected. Propped on wooden scraps –all covered in glue, paper, and glitter– was his _lost_ gun.

A gooey glittery dragon's body now clawed at the grip, its body coiled around the barrel, a very angry glittery dragon's head encased the muzzle giving it the effect of a glittery, sticky, angry, bullet-breathing dragon. He examined her handiwork in stunned silence.

She had made sure to break the dragon's body so that the hammer still moved; the trigger could still be squeezed; the slide could still move to cock the gun; the empty casings could still eject. In theory, the design was ingenious. In practice, a lot of the glue and glitter had seeped into the inner mechanism so as to render it inoperable. All he could do was hope he was mistaken. And as he stared in disbelief at the shiny sticky mess, he yelled out, **"OJOOUUU!!!"**

_Thirty minutes later (after grounding young Ojou)..._

He was trying to clean his gun but it was close to impossible. At this rate it would take a miracle to get it to fire reliably. He sighed in frustration.

Kuroda gave a longing look at the cigarette pack resting innocently on his desk. He'd been trying to quit for awhile now. He slowly traced the lid of the rectangular pack the way you would caress the hand of a lover. Dr Hayashida had warned him that his hedonistic lifestyle was putting a strain on his liver. No smokes, no alcohol, no fatty foods... _'At least, he didn't say no sex.'_ That had been the first thought running through his mind when he first heard of it. It was quickly followed by a second thought, _'Fuck!'_ And the look of incredulity he had given Dr Hayashida caused said doctor to add "At least for awhile". But Kuroda was a man of excesses, most kumi were. Used to doing what he wanted when he wanted, it was difficult to say no to a thin tabacco-filled 3 1/4 inch long cylinder, give or take a few fractions of an inch, when he wanted to light one so badly.

Damn! He drummed his itchy fingers on the desk and eyed the little pack that mockingly beckoned him.

Since when did he listen to Dr Hayashida?

"Pshht!" He scoffed at the thought and took a cigarette from the pack. He scowled at it as if by doing so it would cause it to cower in fear and crawl back into the pack. The cigarette stood its ground, firmly held between his thumb and index fingers. A few seconds of staring passed before he placed the cigarette on the desk.

He tried to distract himself by reading the paper but all he could smell was the traces of tobacco left on his fingers. In a moment of abandonment, he picked up the lone cigarette and lit it.

He took a long languid drag. Almost as slowly, he blew out the smoke letting the cloud drift around him like a layer of fog.

_"There's always tomorrow."_ He muttered to himself as if the backhanded promise was a means of absolution. He took another drag without compunction when a face peered through the doorway.

"Konbanwa **[4]**, Kuroda-san." She said as she bowed low.

He exhaled, a plume of smoke rushed out, billowing around him.

"Ah... Konbanwa, Ishikawa-sensei..." He said waving her in with one hand while the other one snuffed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

She entered Kuroda's office and sat down.

"Would you care for something to drink?" His voice was deceptively calm as he studied her.

She tried to maintain eye contact while she shook her head in the negative.

"Some sake, perhaps?" He coaxed.

His unwavering gaze disconcerted her.

She felt like a child before an adult, who is aware the child has done something wrong but is waiting for him to confess before dispensing punishment.

She fidgeted under his gaze and felt the strong urge to confess that when she was 16 she had gotten a fake ID in order to go to this club her sister kept talking about.

She shook the ridiculous notion away

"No, no..." She raised her hands in front of her and shook them vigorously. "I'm fine."

"Maybe some tea?", he insisted. His eyes still fixed on her. This time she politely accepted hoping he would just look away.

"Kyou, some tea for Sensei." He said knowing that Kyou would be hiding by the door.

Kyou, embarrassed at having been found out, tried to make a quick retreat only to trip over Fuji. What followed was the heavy thud of his body hitting the floor and a yelp from poor Fuji.

"Comin' right up, Boss!" Kyou said as he made sure Fuji was O.K.

Kuroda and Ishikawa-sensei followed the noise, only to catch the awkward retreating form of Kyou limping towards the kitchen followed close behind by the trotting Fuji.

"So..." He rested his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. "Ojou wants an Enforcer." He said it with such amusement that Ms Ishikawa could only respond with a weak, "Yes. It looks like it." Lame comeback, she was aware of it.

"And, what's the problem?" He genuinely asked.

"The problem is that she is just ten. She doesn't need an enforcer." She replied evenly. The only indication of her frustration was a slight raise of her eyebrows. It had been almost imperceptible but Kuroda had seen it. He had spend enough times gambling to know how to read some of the best poker faces. If pressed, he would admit Ishikawa would make a decent poker player herself.

"Boss" Kyou attracted Kuroda's attention. Kuroda tilted his head to the side to motion for him to come in. Shyly, he entered the study. He placed the tea kettle on the desk along with the cups of tea. When he set the cup for Ms. Ishikawa he tried to steal a brief glance at her. She was wearing a simple pair of pants with a fitted t-shirt. The bottom of the pant legs had initially been rolled up into a cuff. Right now, one of them lay unfurled revealing its frayed state. Her hair was in a pony tail except for one lock of hair which fell down on her face.

His brief glance turned into open stare until Ms. Ishikawa move the lock of hair behind her ear.

"Ooshima-san?" She asked a bit self-conscious.

"Um... s-sorry, Sensei" He said with a small rigid bow and quickly scurried away.

Her eyes followed him intrigued until the point when she tilted her head slightly to get a better view of his retreating backside. She flustered and involuntarily tried to put back a lock of hair that wasn't there. She didn't notice Kuroda's curious stare and knowing smile.

He waited a few seconds before he tested the temperature of the tea with a small sip. Cool enough to sip, hot enough to burn if gulped.

"At what age do you propose it is reasonable?" This time he took a sip of his tea to savor the taste.

"What?" She had lost track of the conversation.

"You said the problem was that she was ten and she had no need of an enforcer. So, at what age do you propose it is reasonable?"

"Ah, my mistake." She was starting to get frustrated at his inability to understand. She sipped her tea, thankful that it gave her something to do.

"She can't go around the school enforcing..." Her voice trailed off, the thought unfinished. The truth was she never found out what young Ojou was trying to enforce. But she shuddered to think what she might do with one.

"Technically, Sensei, she isn't the one doing the enforcing but the Enforcer him... er... her-self in this case."

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose to dull the onset of a headache. For a second there the thought occurred to her that he might just be teasing her. She looked at him dubiously, but the blank stare on his face told her he was just making sure Ojou got reprimanded for what she had actually done. She closed her eyes again and rubbed her temples.

"Yes, but we can't have her taking over the school, can we now?" She saw him taking another sip of the doggone tea.

Sensei had a point. School grounds must be kept neutral. It wouldn't do to have her takeover the school. Though, he thought to himself, wouldn't that be something? And for a brief moment he was lost in that thought, chest swelled up with pride, lips curved ever so slightly.

"Kuroda-san?" She interrupted his train of thought.

"If she needs an Enforcer, I'm sure there is a good reason behind it." He sipped his tea. Well, if anything, she was persistent. He sighed.

Ishikawa knew that she was getting nowhere fast where the enforcer was concerned. A change of subject was in order.

She leaned forward on her seat and asked, "Well, have you reconsidered your stand on Kumiko-chan applying for the position of safety patrol?"

Great, just what he needed an overzealous teacher whose idea of discipline was to turn his granddaughter into an okami. He shuddered at the thought.

-o-

_Two months and three days later..._

When she was pregnant with Rini, she read book after book on the subject. From stomach size, what to eat, what not to eat, common complaints.... She charted her pregnancy monthly and was genuinely pleased to see that things had been manageable. Her bump had been a decent size, not too big and not too small. The morning sickness stage hadn't lasted too long for her –she was glad for that. And she hadn't craved anything particularly strange. Everything about it had been subdued just like Rini who was always kind and eager to please. Of course, she had also experienced some of the indignities of pregnancy: the farting galore, the peeing when sneezing or coughing, the 'accident' during the pushing stage... but even those had been manageable considering that the list of common complaints, according to a few of the books she had read, was much larger than the number of common complaints she had experienced.

This pregnancy, she thought as she tenderly rubbed her distended belly, was completely different. For one, she was constipated which was something she hadn't experienced while carrying Rini. Two, she was experiencing vaginal discharges, the kind that felt like she had a slug down there. Three, her hormones were going crazy. This was manifested in two ways: her increasing want for sex, not that Bunpei was complaining about that one; weeping about the smallest of things. Thankfully, Bunpei had been very understanding about the weepiness (of course, if he had made a crack about it she would have probably cried). She sighed in frustration.

She tried to stand up but couldn't.

It brought up another big difference: she was huge. Even on the 5th month mark, she already looked like she was about to pop. Her legs were swollen, her breasts were big, her abdomen was enormous. It was a major task just to take a small walk. She felt bloated and uncomfortable. She felt like her skin was an engorged sponge and she was smothered somewhere inside of it, trapped.

_"You're trying to kill me."_ She muttered to her growing stomach with a childish coo while she continued to rub it.

She gestured for the children to come over to help her stand up. Obediently, Rini-chan and the young heir approached. They tried pulling with all their might, and just when it looked like they were making some progress, the young heir noticed Lisa-san's belly moved. The young heir had never seen such a thing in real life.

Unfortunately, she had seen such a thing in horror films: the shape of a head creeping up the wall like the swell of a wave traveling through the ocean; a shoulder and upper torso gliding under bedsheets trying to get a better look at you; a hand crawling under clothing or even under someone's skin, hoping to take over. All of which were closely followed by ghoulish sssibilant whissspers or a hoarse voice asking you to... geeet oouut.

She gave out a horrified gasp, her grip loosened, a hand slipped and Rini's mother fell down (seated) onto the couch, taking Rini with her.

"What happened?" Lisa-san asked as she tried to lean forward, unsuccessfully.

Horrified, the young heir pointed to the swollen (now moving) abdomen. Lisa-san and Rini-chan didn't understand. _"I-it m-moved."_ She whispered, eyes bulging, mouth agape, curiosity now mixed in with the shock and fear.

She couldn't get out of her mind the image of the small hand sweeping the expanse of Lisa-san's abdomen... trapped. If she had learned anything from all the horror films she'd seen, it was that no one was safe.

Before they could make sense of what young Kumiko was saying there was a knock at the door. Lisa-san knew she wouldn't get out of the darn couch in time to open the door. So, she asked her daughter to check who was at the door. Young Ojou remained uncharacteristically quiet.

"Hello." A smiling Kyou greeted Rini-chan from the doorway. He took a tentative peek inside the house, and saw Lisa-san on the couch. Awkward and uncomfortable, she only managed to gesture with her hand to come in.

"Hello, Lisa-san." He watched her attempt to stand up, she failed miserably. "Want me to give you a hand?"

"Both, if you could?" She pleaded. Kyou gave her a small smile and pulled her up without effort. "When is it due?"

"A month with some change." She inhaled breathlessly as she put both hands on the back of her waist.

She looked so uncomfortable, Kyou had to ask, "Are you sure you're gonna be O.K.?"

"Yeah, yeah." She said slightly irritated as she waved one hand dismissively not even bothering to look at him.

"OK" He shrugged and watched her waddle all the way to the kitchen before turning towards young Ojou. "C'mon lil' bit. We need to get home."

The young heir quietly followed Kyou to the car.

_In the car..._

She was pensive throughout most of the car ride. Her young mind was convinced that the only explanation for what she saw was that Lisa-san must be possessed and the baby was some sort of demon-spawned child.

"Her belly moved." She managed to say, still in that state of shock.

_"huh?"_ Kyou mumbled without looking at the young heir, his eyes fixed on the road.

"Her. Belly. Moved." She emphasized.

"Oh, the baby moved." He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and added, "Not much time now before it comes out"

"What are you gonna do about it?" She asked.

_"About what?"_ He mumbled lazily.

"About Lisa-san and _the child_?!" She wasn't sure if she should call IT that.

"There's nothing to do." He said patiently. "It will come out and the Ishimarus will take care of it."

Young Ojou was visibly alarmed. Apparently Kyou agreed with her on two things. One, IT was going to come out. Two, IT was going to be let loose in Japan. However, they disagreed in one important key point. There was no way in hell that the Ishimaru's will be capable of _taking care_ (yakuza definition here, mind you) of IT. It would be better to take care of the demon-spawn before IT was let loose in Japan.

The car stopped and she ran inside the house looking for her grandfather.

"Grandpa, you've got to save Rini's mom!"

It was hard being introduced to a conversation that had (for the most part) occured in the other party's mind. It was harder when the other party assumed you knew what had been going on in their thoughts as if you were a freakin' psychic. It was the hardest when you didn't even bother to ask about this mental conversation because you already had some preconceived idea (no matter how mistaken) of what the conversation was all about.

His worst fears had been confirmed.

"I told her not to-" The statement hovered unfinished as he scrambled about. He needed to act fast. He needed a weapon. He needed to call a few of his men...

Without hesitation, he headed towards the door, katana in hand.

"Her condition should have slowed her down." He turned left then right, slightly confused about what to do. If they did something to a very pregnant woman then they didn't deserve to be treated like men.

He let go of the katana, opting to use a gun instead.

"Stubborn woman! This wouldn't be happening if she'd know her place." Yep, the yakuza weren't known for treating women as equals, Kuroda was no exception. Though his views on women were slowly changing, thanks to his granddaughter.

He saw his gun dismantled all over the coffee table, a small reminder of what Ojou had done to it a couple of months ago. He was still hopeful that he could repair it.

"Kyou!" He called out. He was gonna have to use one of Kyou's guns. He needed a plan. He needed to know how many men were there. Did they get the rest of the family? Was anyone still alive? Kuroda stopped. He needed more information in order to assess the situation.

He squatted down and putting his hands on his granddaughter's shoulders, he asked with a sense of urgency, "What happened?"

"Rini's mom is possessed. I saw IT move." She held onto his arms. Her eyes flitted uneasily around the room as if someone (or more to the point _something_) was watching her. And, in the faintest, most timorous of whispers, she said _"I think... IT... wants to get out."_

It took him 3 seconds to realize the Kataguri weren't involved in whatever situation Lisa-san was in; 5 seconds later, it registered his granddaughter had said that Lisa-san was possessed; 2 seconds after that, he wondered what the hell was she talking about; 6 seconds from then, he had an inkling as to what his granddaugther was referring to.

Ryuuichirou Inaba, Kuroda's Kumichou, wasn't a very religious man, but 16 seconds after his granddaughter spoke, all he could do was groan _"Oh God in heaven, I'm dying!"_

-o-

_Two weeks and one day later and because adults like to procrastinate about these things..._

After all the questions, he knew he had to sit her down and explain the changes boys and girls go through if only to stop her from making up things.

He had spent a good part of 15 days thinking about what to say to his granddaughter. He was not one to explain much of anything. Maybe it had something to do with all the interrogations to which he had been subjected by the okami or maybe it had something to do with the god-like reverence he was accorded by many. He talked, people listened. He _asked_, people _acquiesced_. He angered, people trembled. Whatever the case, the fact was that he was not looking forward to having to explain to a 10 year old about the facts of life and the physical changes she'll experience as a growing young woman.

How much or how little should he go into? How in-depth should he describe things? How few details could he get away with? ...Menstruation!

Kuroda shuddered.

And the questions... Oh, the many questions she'll surely ask! He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse that his granddaughter felt so comfortable asking him AND his men _anything_. I mean, really?! that was not normal.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had been in more uncomfortable situations than this. Of course, he usually resolved **those** by force. Not that there was anything wrong with talking as a means of diffusing a situation. In fact, he had been known to do so on occasion.

He sighed loudly.

All he needed was to make sure the explanation was suitable for Ojou's age. This was the reason for the kumi's excursion to Tsutaya** [5]**.

The site of the kumi waiting at the crosswalk donned in colorful shiny fancy suits, was an oddity to say the least. But it was their walk across the street (the slow deliberate walk as they spanned the street, suits billowing in the soft breeze, the prominently displayed guns) _à la Reservoir Dogs_ that commanded attention. Passersby did a double take and a few even checked their surroundings to see if there might be another clan nearby. The last thing they needed was to be crouching for cover in the middle of blazing bullets because no matter how illegal it was to carry a gun in Japan, the yakuza always managed to have a few (to be used only in emergency situations when fists and katanas would just not do, or so they say).

The police were appraised of Kuroda's presence in the area. It didn't bode well that Kuroda was accompanied by such a large group of men, so the police kept a watchful eye on the situation. But, for all the buildup ... nothing really happened.

Kuroda paused at the store's entrance. His men waited behind him. It took him a full minute of reflection before he ventured into the two story building followed close behind by his underlings.

On the way to the book section, a few of the kumi straggled behind, distracted by Tsutaya's selection of DVDs. A few of them slowed to a crawl, in particular when they encountered the adult movie section.

"Ooh, look!" Dai's eyes grew wide with excitement. The kumi piled up behind Dai to look over his shoulder.

Dai picked up the DVD in question as if it were the holy grail. "Do you know what this is?"

"A DVD", was the bored response of one kumi who was none too happy about being dragged to a bookstore to find a freakin' book on 'Your growing body' or whatever the hell that book would be called.

"No. I mean, yes..." Dai scowled at the kumi. "But that's not what I meant." Dai returned his attention back to the DVD in his hands. "This, gentlemen..." He paused for effect as he slowly and reverently raised his hands as if offering it as a small sacrifice to the heavens (if the heavens took pornography as a sacrifice, that is) With the DVD held up high in his hands, he added, "This is the best adult film ever to be made."

"He's right. I've seen it fourteen times already." Another kumi said. It was this sentence that would later lead to his nickname.

"Fourteen times?! Geez, you need to get laid more often", said the bored kumi from before, the one who would christen him with the nickname.

Kane pushed through the kumi pile up and stuck his head in to see the DVD.

"Ah, that one is pretty good but I prefer this one" Kane picked up another DVD which had been given 3 stars by one of Tsutaya's staff.

"Ooh, that's pretty good too. The plot is more sophisticated on that one", said the kumi who had seen Dai's selection fourteen times.

"The plot... sophisticated?!" The bored kumi said in amused disbelief.

"Hey, Mr. Fourteen Times!" And that was the nickname which would later drop the Mister (as it was too snooty for a yakuza) and much later turn into plain old Fourteen. "Who freakin' cares about the plot?! You should see the size of-"

_Ahem... Ahem..._ Kuroda cleared his throat as he cocked a questioning eyebrow.

_"Um... yeah, the book..."_ Kane mumbled as he put the DVD back in its place. Dai followed suit.

_"Maybe we can rent it later."_ The bored kumi whispered to 'Mr. Fourteen Times'.

They tried to catch up with the rest of the kumi. On the way, they saw a few of the men browsing through the women's magazine area. Their reasoning being that some of those magazines gave helpful tips to women like how to take care of the children and cleaning the house and stuff like that. Yep, the kumi were stuck in the 1800, but that's another story.

The point was that, in the kumi's mind, it wouldn't be inconceivable to find there tips for women on how to have a talk with their children about the body changes they'll experience.

Among those browsing through the women's magazine were Toru and Tsuji. Tsuji was holding open a Cosmo magazine.

Wakamatsu, seeing Tsuji with Cosmo firmly in hand, said,

"Do me a favor and put that crap down." The kumi gave him a questioning look.

He clarified. "Chie read this article... um"

His eyes dashed from left to right before he continued.

"His G Spot **[6] **was the name of the article. And damn it if she didn't spend a good week trying to find the whole freakin' alphabet. Don't get me wrong, some of it was enjoyable even if some of it was plain stupid but", and at this he squirmed and cast his eyes downwards, "...some of it was downright uncomfortable." He grimaced and cautiously adjusted his... _package_. With that he went on towards the book section _à_ _la John Wayne_: bowlegged with a swagger that was less cool and more along the lines of 'I'm in pain' or 'I've soiled myself'... Well, you get the picture.

The rest of the kumi followed him silently with their gaze until he was out of earshot.

"You think maybe she didn't do it right?" Mr. Fourteen Times asked the bored one.

"Probably. You know how hard it is to follow written instructions without the help of pictures or a video."

"Yeah, that's why there's porn."

Tsuji ignored the two and returned his attention back to the magazine in his hand only to frown at what he saw.

"What the hell's that?!" Tsuji pointed to an ad of a bottle shaped as the torso of a man.

"Fleur du Male", **[7]** a kumi read.

"Looks like it might be cologne.", another one said.

"Whaddaya think it smells like?"

"Men, I'd say."

Tsuji took a slow whiff of his armpit as he grimaced. "Don't think that will be too popular."

At this point Kane noticed Toru busy reading a magazine. He hadn't moved from that position. Not even while Wakamatsu shared his little anecdote.

Kane took the magazine from Toru's hands. "What have we got here?" He scanned the page Toru had been reading and smirked. "You trying to get some pointers here, Toru-boy?" He waved the magazine on Toru's face mockingly.

Yasuo took a peek. "Sex Moves She Wants More Of" **[6] **Yasuo read out loud.

"Oi, gimme that!" Toru protested.

"Let's see..." Kane began to read the article. "Body compliments. Wait, that's no sex move!"

"I think they mean moves that will get you, _some_." Toru concluded.

"Sounds like a load of crap. I mean, I do that all the time. I should be getting more action than I am." Yasuo confessed.

Just at that moment, a lovely young woman was hurridly heading towards the magazine section.

Toru elbowed Yasuo and gestured toward the approaching young woman with an upward tilt of the chin.

"Well, let's see whatcha got, _Romeo_"

Yasuo straightened up and like a lion in wait his eyes followed the young woman's steps. When the young woman was within range, he strutted like a peacock and said, "Hi! If I said you had a great body, would you hold it against me" The embarassed young woman turned away disgusted.

"Not too bad but a bit overused." Toru looked in the distance.

"Then what do you suggest."

Toru thought for a second and as another nubile young woman approached, he readied himself. He leaned sideways on a bookcase, arms folded across his chest.

"Damn.....your ass is fine! Want to come see mine?" This was said with a wiggle of his butt accompanied by a little slap.

The girl rolled her eyes then stormed off in a huff. Toru was surprised it didn't work on her.

"Hey! Don't think so much of yourself!" He yelled after her. Kane slapped the back of Toru's head and said, "Stop that! We are trying to be inconspicuous."

"I see what your problem is. You added that offer to come see your ass. So it takes away from the compliment. It should be all about her."

"Oh, that makes sense."

Another unsuspecting young lady was passing by. "Let me show you how it's done." Kane said.

As soon as the girl passed by them, he ran his fingers through his hair and with a sly look on his face, he said "Hey baby. You've got a nice pair of-"

"**What are you doing?!**", interrupted Kuroda.

"I'm just complimenting the young woman." The young woman who had been subjected to the 'flattering' remark had been so self conscious that she covered said anatomy with the magazines she had at hand and scurried away as quickly as she could.

"This is not the time for that." Kuroda said evenly.

The Kuroda Kumichou had been hard at work trying to herd his men together and keep them focused to the task at hand. Had they been trying to beat someone up or defend someone or infiltrate somewhere, they wouldn't have any problems with it. Anything that would put someone's life in danger, they were on top of it. However, this was too menial for them, he realized. He was tired of trying to herd them in place. So, he decided that it was better to have someone else teach Ojou about these things.

-o-

_Ten days later, a few hours before the PTA meeting..._

Bunpei had tried to dissuade his wife from attending the PTA meeting **[8]** seeing as she was due any time soon, but she insisted on going. It didn't matter to her that he was perfectly willing to go. And it wasn't as if he had never gone to a PTA meeting but Lisa was adamant.

She felt suffocated by all the attention. Granted she was huge and her husband was concerned for her well being, so it was understandable that he watched her. The Kataguri was watching her for different reasons. They were concerned with her silence. The Kuroda clan was watching... everyone. They were concerned with the stability of the area (she thinks). She isn't sure why they worried about her. To top it all, her work, the thing that kept her sane, had been reduced to web communications. She was tired of being couped up in the house. If it took a PTA meeting to get out of the house, then she'll take it.

Bunpei knew better than to argue with a pregnant woman, especially a very pregnant one at that. He decided the best thing to do would be to go with her, in case she needed assistance. This left in the air the matter of where they were going to leave Rini while they went to the PTA meeting.

In a move that was so unlike her, it was Lisa who suggested they ask Kuroda to sit for them. And after much discussion, there they were, at Kuroda's.

"Kuroda-san" They both bowed low.

"Ah, Bunpei-san, Lisa-san. What can I do for you?" Kuroda asked the two, surprised to see them there.

Considering Lisa-san's reservations about the yakuza, he was surprised by what followed next.

"We were wondering if you could watch Rini this evening until the end of the PTA meeting."

"Actually, I am going to attend the meeting myself."

"Oh." Lisa said a bit deflated.

{"See? I told you this was a bad idea."} Lisa said in English.

{"What? It was your idea!"} Bunpei replied in English as well.

Kuroda listened amused, understanding eluding him. He could only imagine what they were saying.

"But Tsuji will stay with Ojou. I can ask him to watch Rini as well." He offered.

"Tsuji?" Lisa tried to picture which one that was.

"Old fella? portly? balding?"

Tried as she might, she just couldn't remember him. She gave him a confused look.

"...likes to tell stories?" He added.

"Ah! Yeah, I remember him. If he could watch her, that would be great." Lisa-san perked up.

"Now, are you sure you want to leave her here?" He looked at them obliquely.

Lisa-san started having second thoughts. Bunpei, seeing this, asked her in English.

{"If it's a matter of going out, the three of us can go out to eat or something. Don't you think it will be more enjoyable (let alone more comfortable) than going to some stupid PTA meeting?"} Bunpei tried reasoning with her.

{"Are you trying to tell me what to do?"} Lisa was beginning to get upset.

Bunpei gave an apologetic smile to Kuroda and then as patiently as he could muster (which wasn't very patient at all at this very moment) he mumbled with a roll of the eyes, _{"Heaven forbid!"}_

Kuroda didn't need to know English to understand that Lisa was going to get all weepy any time soon, so he interrupted their conversation.

"It really is no trouble at all." He said as gently as he could manage.

"Thank you, Kuroda-san." Bunpei answered for the two, not giving Lisa any time to change her mind.

_At the PTA meeting..._

There were two reasons why Kuroda didn't go to PTA meetings:

1. He was busy with _'work'_

2. His presence might disrupt the PTA meeting.

The task usually fell on Kyou, who (ever since Ojou's arrival) had been assigned to care for her, and Dai, just because Kyou didn't want to be the only one dealing with the PTA.

Principal Takeda was quite pleased with this arrangement. It wasn't that Kyou or Dai looked less yakuza than Kuroda. In fact, if they tried to make those two look katagi, Kyou wouldn't need a makeover, he would need an overhaul. No, what pleased Principal Takeda was that he knew they wouldn't make a move without their boss' say so. And with no boss around to say so, there wouldn't be any doing so. However, just to be on the safe side, he had entrusted Ms. Ishikawa to keep a close eye on them and intervene at the slightest whiff of trouble, seeing as she was so good at diffusing their tempers, particularly Ooshima-san's temper.

As for the parents, initially they'd been wary about the kumi's addition to the PTA meeting. Their overactive imagination fashioned the PTA turning into an underground yakuza operation. It was enough cause for concern that an emergency meeting had been called. Of course, no one agreed on anything and the idea of discouraging the kumi from attending was quickly shot down, not just because no one likes to volunteer during PTA meetings, but mostly because this was the yakuza. Really, who was going to try convincing them? No one, that's who.

All the arguing ended when one parent pointed out that most parents would rather have a root canal than go to a PTA meeting. Several nodded and murmured in agreement. The kumi would most likely be performing some _dental work_ themselves impeding them from attending these meetings. There was really nothing to fret about. Right?

But time proved them wrong. Kyou and Dai came to every freakin' meeting. No Boss though. And they found that despite their _dentistry_ and _chiropractic_ tendencies the kumi were like any other parents. They came grudgingly; they were bored out of their skull throughtout the meeting; they cowered into their seat at the mention of volunteer work. And, the few temper flares ups had been quickly extinguished by Ishikawa-sensei.

So, as long as Ishikawa-sensei was there, they didn't mind them that much. The kumi had become that weird kid in school that picks his nose and eats his boogers when he thinks nobody is watching. You may talk to him but all you can think about the whole time you're talking to him is how he probably just ate a booger. However, as long as he doesn't do it in front of you, you'd try not to run away disgusted.

So, it was a big surprise to see the Kuroda Boss stroll into the room, dressed in traditional Japanese garb, katana hanging down from his left hip. This walking anachronism had the parents present staring with the exception of one woman who found the whole thing interesting enough to attempt to take a picture with her cellphone. The woman sitting beside her grabbed her hand and whispered, _"Are you mad, woman?! What do you think you're doing? D'ya want to get us all killed?"_

_"What?"_ She pulled her cellphone-clutching hand away from the other woman's grip.

_"There's no silent mode for camera phones! _**[9]** _How are you gonna take a picture?"_ She whispered nervously.

The young mother smirked. _"We cough loudly to drown the sound of the camera click."_

_"We?!"_ The one sitting beside her was flustered. _"I can't get involved in this."_ She looked around the room. _"It's suicide!"_

_"C'mon! On the count of three, we cough."_ She tilted her head in Kuroda's general direction and asked, _"Don't tell me you don't want to take a picture?"_

The woman sitting beside her looked at Kuroda for a few seconds.

PTA meeting... yakuza boss... ancient garb... yep, it just begs to be photographed!

Without taking her eyes off the Kuroda Boss, _"OK, but you better cough loud."_

_"One..."_

The one sitting beside her nudged her and, leaning to the side, in hush tones, from the corner of her mouth, she added, _"E-mail me a copy of the picture."_

_"uh-huh... Two..."_

_"What? You're not gonna start on One?"_

_"Stop it! He's gonna sit down!"_

Kuroda heard the angry whispers and looked, instinctively putting a hand on the hilt of his katana. The two women stopped their bickering and gave Kuroda very nervous nods of acknowledgement. Kuroda nodded back and looked away.

_**COUGH COUGH**_

Kuroda was used to the staring, the shared glances, the murmurs whenever he was around. So much so that he didn't pay much attention to the curious gawkers anymore. His mind was fixed on finding the Ishimarus within this sea of people because even a yakuza boss, when entering a room full of strangers, gravitates towards the people he knows or the people he has something in common. The yakuza (with their outsider status) and gaijins (being outsiders themselves) have more in common with each other than either would care to admit (especially in the eyes of older Japanese people).

_Meanwhile..._

Lisa was fine for awhile until she started playing with her necklace, something she only did when she was nervous or under stress. Bunpei gave her a sideways glance.

{"Are you thinking about Rini?"} Her husband asked. It just dawned on Lisa-san that they'd left their only daughter under **yakuza** care.

{"Oh, my Lord! We're using the m-a-f-i-a as a sitter!"} She said alarmed.

{"They are not so bad."} He said then added smugly, {"Besides, it was your idea."}

{"Would you stop saying that?!"} She lightly punched his arm.

A young woman heard Lisa-san's last statement. Curiously, she approached the couple.

She fancied herself fluent in English. Deciding she wanted to practice her English, she asked, {"How ya doin', modafucka?"}

The problem was that though she had learned some English in school, she had heavily supplemented her learning with imported American movies, which explained why a petite Japanese woman was trying her best to speak Ebonics.

"Excuse me?" came the unison (and stunned) response of Lisa and Bunpei Ishimaru in Japanese. The petite woman thought for a while trying to make sure she was saying it right.

{"How ya doin', mo-de-ru-fo-cku?"} She repeated. The last word said slowly in Ingrish **[10]** as if this would make it easier to understand.

The Ishimarus were too stunned to say anything. They just... nodded.

{"Well, son of a-"} Before she could finish what she was about to say, Bunpei interrupted her.

"Um, where did you learn English?" He asked in Japanese, hoping the woman would respond in Japanese as well. No such luck.

Proudly, she answered {"School and American movies!"} She waited for effect then added, {"I know slang. If you feel nostalgic just talk to me, bi-"}

{"Ah, well."} Lisa interrupted her. The Ishimarus shared glances. {"It is very kind of you to offer."}

The Ishimarus were torn between correcting her or letting her be. In a land were politeness reigns supreme how were they supposed to correct her without offending her?

It was at this point the Kuroda boss found the Ishimarus talking to a petite Japanese woman. The three had not noticed Kuroda's approach so when he greeted them they were taken by surprise. The petite young woman scurried away, though not without saying _{"Well, sneaky bastard."}_ under her breath (and in English) leaving the Ishimarus biting their lips so as not to laugh.

Kuroda sat beside Lisa-san and motion to her belly.

"How are you doing?" He said taking a quick glance at her belly.

"Fine, fine." She sighed loudly while rubbing her belly as if she were trying to divine the future.

"All right, the PTA meeting is now called to order." The room quieted down and everyone took their seats.

"We want to thank Tanaka-san and Kobayashi-san for their success in putting together the bake sale to raise money for decorations."

Several thank-you's later.

"We want to thank also the volunteers who helped with the refreshments for today's meeting."

_"How long is this gonna be?"_ the Kuroda Boss asked Kyou.

_"It'll be a while still."_ Kyou whispered. _"They're not done thanking everybody and their mamma yet."_

"We also want to thank Satoi-san for her work"

Kuroda looked at a few of the parents who seemed to be paying more attention to him than the actual meeting.

"And finally we want to thank-"

Finally. Did she just say finally? No sweeter words have ever been said in the Japanese language than finally.

He got ready to ask his question.

"A few announcements before we go on."

The Kuroda Boss deflated a bit. O.K. he could wait for a few announcements. Just a few minutes... it _better_ be just a few minutes.

"We want to congratulate-"

Oh for the love of all that is holy! I think they're trying to mention everyone in the village.

"on the 15th, there will be a-"

Needless to say, Kuroda started tuning in and out of the meeting. He wasn't the only one.

".... will have ....

Bored. Bored. Bored.

Some people nod off when they're bored.

"... don't forget..."

Some people doodle when they're bored while others check their e-mail via phone.

"...at 5:00 p.m."

Bored out of his skull.

Some people shake their foot while others drum their fingers.

"...next month there will be a... "

But when Kuroda was bored (also when he was stressed), he played with the hilt of his katana. _flick... flick... flick..._

The problem with this habit is that it tends to terrorize the people around him, the PTA meeting was no exception. The one talking, hastily shortened the announcements and awkwardly introduced principal Takeda.

Oh, good! Kuroda sat straighter on his seat.

"First of all, I want to thank everyone for being here, and I want to thank again all the volunteers."

By now, Kuroda couldn't take it anymore and he blurted, almost whining, "Aw, c'mon! We were already done with all the thanking!" Ms. Ishikawa gave him a pleading look.

_Ahem Ahem_ Principal Takeda cleared his throat nervously.

"Yeah... Um... moving right along."

The parents were actually glad someone had said something. They should have known it would take a yakuza boss to make the meeting a bit shorter.

Still Kuroda had to endure the Treasurer's reports and the Committee reports.

"So, is there any old business to discuss."

"Yes, uniforms." said the one that had taken Kuroda's picture. "I think we should change the colors to some that are easier to find."

"Now, hold on a second. That's easy if you just have one kid. I have three children and I don't want to have to buy three new uniforms when I already have hand-me-downs for the younger ones."

This went on for quite awhile ending when a decision was reached to continue this particular discussion for vote on the next meeting. So, the old business which was already old old business became old old old business for next meeting, but who was counting?

The Kuroda Boss drummed his fingers impatiently until he couldn't stand it any longer. He shook his head then raised his hand.

"I want to present a motion." He said trying to follow their rules.

"Th-the chair recognizes Kuroda-san." The... _chair_ stuttered.

"I propose we move on to new business."

"Who seconds the motion?"

"Aye" was unanimously said. This startled the chair seeing as this lot tried not to volunteer to anything and right now they were being so vocal.

"I guess it'll be redundant to ask whose in favor?" The chair asked hypothetically but nevertheless she got another resounding "Aye!"

"Fine. Is there any new business?"

"Yes," Kuroda raised his hand again. The chair looked pleadingly at Principal Takeda, uncertain on what to do. Principal Takeda stood from his seat and faced Kuroda.

"Yes, Kuroda-san um sama eh." Principal Takeda added the honorific uncertainly. Should he use -san? Maybe. Would it be better if he uses sama? Probably. Would it be too obvious he was kissing Kuroda's ass by using -sama? Definitely. Would it be better for his health if he uses -sama? Most assuredly.

Kuroda stood up. His men followed suit while they scanned the room.

"I think we need to add a course to next year's curriculum."

"It's a little on the late side for that." Principal Takeda said.

"I'm sure you'll find a way." He fixed Takeda with a steady stare.

"Er... W-w-what c-course is it you want us to add?"

"Sex education."

"But that is offered in Jr. High."

"I think everyone will agree this class should be offered now."

"I don't know. Aren't they a bit young for that kind of talk?" a woman timidly asked. Everyone looked at the Boss who went to the front of the room to address the crowd. The chair quickly scurried away.

"As you know, I am a single man, surrounded by men. My granddaughter is at that age where she either asks questions or makes it up as she goes along."

_"Damn right."_ Dai stated shaking his head. Kuroda flashed him a warning glare which quieted not only Dai but everyone in the room.

Kuroda looked to the crowd again. "I'm sure I'm not the only single parent or guardian who is in the same situation." There were several nods and murmurs of agreement.

"Wouldn't it be better if this talk comes from the parents?" Principal Takeda ventured.

"I've tried talking to her. I even went to Tsutaya to look for some guidebook or something to help me talk to her."

"Hey, I heard about that on the news."

"So did I."

"I saw it on YouTube."

"Me too. It has over 800,000 hits!" Several parents murmured quite impressed while others were asking for the link.

"**That's** what you were doing in Tsutaya?" An incredulous father asked the Kuroda boss. He nodded slightly embarrassed.

{"Harsh."} said 'Ms. Moderufocku' in English.

Principal Takeda walked to the front of the room where Kuroda was. He tried to bring the conversation back on track.

"Um... Yes, but we don't have anyone qualified to teach that subject to grade school children. You can't expect us to pull someone from the street to give this class."

Kuroda held on to Principal Takeda's shirt in a desperate plea which was misunderstood by Takeda as an act of aggression.

Takeda flinched. His eyes closed instinctively expecting a punch in the face, at the very least. At most... well, he didn't want to think about that.

Murmurs mixed in with the rustling of purses and feet as half the parents looked for their cellphone to call the police while a quarter of them had thrown themselves on the floor and the other quarter were actively looking for a place to hide. Kuroda was unaffected by their behavior and kept a tight hold on Principal Takeda's shirt. Kyou and Dai shared confused glances not really understanding that almost everyone in the room thought Kuroda was going to... 'kill 'em all'.

"Settle down, people." Ms. Ishikawa ran to the center of the room. She had spent enough time with Kuroda to know he wasn't trying to harm Principal Takeda. Something had to be done quickly before the police was called. With arms extended, she yelled in desperation once more, "Settle down!" But no one was listening. "I said, **SETTLE DOWN**!" An uneasy silence spread throughout the room. Nervous glances were exchanged and the mood of the room turned to one of tense apprehension.

Kyou and Dai were quite impressed. Dai nudged Kyou as he whispered, _"Wow! Didcha see that?"_ Kyou, holding one hand up to his chest whispered, though mostly to himself, _"I think... I think I'm a little turned on."_

Ms. Ishikawa quickly went to Kuroda. "Kuroda-san?" Kuroda ignored her.

"You need to find a way." Kuroda said, his voice full of anguish. "I can't spend another day trying to find a freakin' book on 'You and your body'!"

It dawned on a few of the single parents that it was just a matter of time before they too were in that predicament. Panicked, they quickly added their voices to Kuroda's request. Principal Takeda, still scared, looked pleadingly at Ms. Ishikawa.

"Kuroda-san." She said softly, as if approaching a wounded animal. "We'll look for someone. Just let the principal go."

He looked down at his hands which were still grabbing the principal's shirt. He slowly let go. Principal Takeda took several steps back, a judicious (and quite literal) arms-length away, before he straightened his clothes.

"You'll find someone?" Kuroda asked, hopeful.

"Yeah." Her eyes softened for a second before the expression was replaced by a sly smile as she said, "...as long as you let Kumiko-chan apply for the safety patrol position."

Principal Takeda was appalled at such a proposition. He didn't want the kumi child to be in the safety patrol. What the hell was Ishikawa thinking?!

Kuroda was astounded. It took him a few seconds before he let out a boisterous laugh. He raised his hands in mock surrender and said, "You win."

He looked at his men and signal them that they were leaving. Before reaching the door, he turned to look at Ishikawa-sensei. He gave her the lowest nod he had given anyone since he became a yakuza boss. With that, he said, "Well played, Sensei. Well played."

------

_**A/N**_:

**[1]**. "The origin of the name 'yakuza' is obscure, but is popularly said to originate from the lowest hand in hanafuda, a popular card game: 8 (ya), 9 (ku) 3 (za) (ie: worthless)" ....as read from http: //www. japan-101. com/ culture/ yakuza. htm**  
[2]**. Letting one rip - I was told this phrase (which refers to flatulence aka 'passing gas' aka farting) is an American slang. How true is that? I don't know. I did find a website who supported my friend's claim. Of course, I also read in some blog that in Germany they use this term as well. In any case, I've put this for my international readers just in case they don't know what it means.**  
[3]. **MIA - Missing In Action**  
[4]**. Konbanwa - Good evening in Japanese.**  
[5]**.Tsutaya - Tsutaya is a rental and sales shop, with a presence nationally. (As read from http: //yapari-osakajin. blogspot. com/2005_06_01_archive. html)  
a. They sell books, magazines, DVD, etc. I do not know if they sell/rent porn. I don't think they'd mind much if I take creative license on that seeing as they sell yaoi manga (as read from a blog), but (just in case) I'm mentioning that (to my knowledge) they do not.  
b. I want to thank _WindyLea_ for the name of this shop. I was looking for an actual nationally known bookstore in Japan and I was having a hard time determining which of the places I've read about filled that requirement. After a while of going through sites, I remembered _WindyLea_ leaving a review mentioning Tsutaya, so after doing several searches on it, I decided it would be a good place for the kumi to go.  
c. I don't know if the staff suggests DVDs, books, etc in Tsutaya. They do in Borders. You can tell I'm a Borders girl. Anyway, it is not totally inconceivable they might do so in certain Tsutayas.**  
[6]**. Again all the headlines are actual ones. I do not know if that would be the reaction of anyone trying to find _**his **_G spot (and all the other spots on that particular article).**  
[7]**. Fleur du Male - It is an actual perfume. I do not know how it smells but thought the name (and the bottle) was interesting enough to put in the story.**  
[8]**. PTA meetings - Ah, the parent teacher meeting... I want to thank _Gaijinfan_ for answering my many questions as to what happens in a PTA meeting. These e-mails happened so long ago that she has probably forgotten but I haven't. I also want to thank my mother for answering my questions on PTA meetings. This in no way represents what happens on a Japanese PTA meeting. That being said, the scene was inspired by what Gaijinfan, my mother and a blog said happens in one, plus by a town meeting I went to (which incidentally was research for a future story). And, since I am thanking my mother, I should add that the inspiration for the whole purse thing in the previous chapter was (fanfare music here) my mother's purse. I'm sure she won't be too happy that I think she keeps too much crap in her purse. But she doesn't know I'm writing this, so that will be our little secret. Shshsh**  
[9]**. Camera phones in Japan do not have a silent mode by law to discourage voyeurs from taking up-skirt photos of unsuspecting victims. I don't know when this law was passed.**  
[10]**. Ingrish - Japanese pronunciation of English words; poorly translated sentences; also known as 'Engrish'  
11. It is strange to write about smoking when I am so opposed to it. But, the manga-kumi smoke a lot. I suppose real life kumi do as well; though, I wouldn't know. Maybe I am impugning their person, who knows?!


End file.
